Going Against the Grain
by TheDroidsYoureLookingFor
Summary: "Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what's to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days. New days. Days to come. The thing is, we didn't have to hate each other for getting older. We just had to forgive ourselves... for growing up." Makoto/OC Photo by pixiv id 205403
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. All content belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own my OC.**

Makoto Tachibana yawned as he put some bread into the toaster, leaning against the counter in the kitchen. He had woken up early today; it was the first official day of school. A new year, new beginnings and all that. He was officially a second year student at Iwatobi High, and he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was going to be be 17 years old and was going to have to get used to being called "senpai" by the other first-years. It felt like just yesterday when he was in grade school with his childhood buddies, all having fun smearing paint all over their uniforms during art class and rushing over to the swim club right after the last bell.

Speaking of childhood buddies...

"Ran, Ren," he called out to his two younger siblings. The twins were sitting at the breakfast table with their parents, groggily trying to stay awake. "Do your onii-chan a favour and go wake Byaku-chan up for me, will you? I think she's still sleepi-"

Before he had even finished his sentence the twins had jerked awake almost immediately and were shoving each other aside to run up the stairs to the currently occupied guest room. He could hear the door slamming open and the twins yelling as they jumped on the bed of the room's occupant. The loud groan that was emitted from the unfortunate victim of the twins' liveliness rang through the house.

"Makoto Tachibana, when I get down there I am going to kick your butt." The same voice threatened.

The head of the household, Isami Tachibana chuckled as he flipped through the morning paper. His wife, Kotetsu Tachibana simply shook her head, smiling as she carried an empty coffee pot to the kitchen counter. "Really, Makoto... to think you'd be so cruel to subject Byakuya-chan to that kind of wake-up call." She tutted, handing Makoto the pot. "You'd better fill that up, you're going to need that as a peace offering."

Isami laughed along with his son as Makoto began to brew the coffee, heeding his mother's sound advice. "If there's one thing that girl isn't, it's a morning person. Really, what would she do if she hadn't stayed over..." The man commented, flipping another page in the newspaper he was reading.

Heavy footsteps could be heard trudging down the stairs as the twins practically dragged the Tachibanas' guest into the kitchen, chattering on about some random topic or other. Byakuya Shion walked into the kitchen with slumped shoulders, eyes still unfocused from her sleepy state. Judging from her mussed shoulder-length hair and rumpled uniform, she had probably gotten ready in a rush due to the twins' bothering. The teen proceeded to sit herself down heavily in a seat at the table and her dark head fell onto the table with a loud "thud", groaning out what sounded like a muffled "Good morning."

Makoto smiled as he brought the pot of coffee and fresh toast to the table, placing them in front of the half-dead girl. She grumbled out something that sounded like a "Thanks", though the boy couldn't tell. He chuckled before greeting her. "Good morning, Byaku-chan. How was your sleep?" He asked, emerald eyes shining with a hint of mischief. His father snorted into his coffee mug.

The girl lifted her head and gave him a brown-eyed glare that he assumed was meant to be intimidating, but the effect was ruined by her messy hair and lethargic posture. Makoto laughed and simply ruffled her hair, taking his own seat beside her and starting on his own breakfast as the twins sat down opposite them and bickered over something trivial.

"You'd best finish your breakfast, Byakuya-chan. You've got to be on your way to school soon, especially if you and Makoto are going to pick up Haruka-kun on the way." Kotetsu lectured lightly, prompting Byakuya to sit up- albeit grudgingly- and pour out the coffee into a large mug before spreading some jam onto her toast. Mrs Tachibana's word was law in this house- sometimes even more so than Mr Tachibana.

Byakuya Shion had been acquainted with Makoto for years ever since her family had moved into the same neighborhood as the Tachibanas. Her mother, Mikasa Shion had been a former Olympic swimmer, thus prompting her to raise her daughter and firstborn son- Aoi Shion- in the ways of the sport. She had also been a coach at the Iwatobi Swim Club after she retired from her previous occupation. Byakuya had never known her father, as he had passed away several months before she was born due to a car accident.

Mikasa's career as a coach had led to her enrolling her two children in the swim club as well, which was how they had started getting to know the Tachibanas better. Kotetsu and Mikasa had enjoyed each other's company and often got together for some good old girls'-day outs; the two had been great friends. Byakuya, with her tomboyish nature, had fit right in with Makoto and his gang while her brother preferred to hang out with his own peers.

Unfortunately, Mikasa passed away due to a fatal illness four years ago and Aoi, who was 18 at the time, had to pursue a career in the city to earn a higher income to provide better for his sister and himself. Thankfully the large sum of money their mother had left behind for them allowed them to live rather comfortably despite the circumstances. Aoi had left his sister in their Iwatobi home to finish her education while he left for the city. Since they had no other relatives- both their parents had been only children and their grandparents were dead- the Tachibanas had insisted on taking it upon themselves to keep tabs on the girl, treating her like a member of their own family.

Since then, Byakuya had found herself spending more time and growing even fonder of the big family, sometimes even babysitting the twins whenever Mako was busy. Most of the time, she stayed at her own place, but sometimes she'd sleep over at the Tachibana household when it got lonely.

Or whenever she spent the whole day doing nothing but intense gaming on Makoto's Playstation. Which was exactly what she had done yesterday when she skipped the school's opening ceremony- she had obviously planned it and even brought her school things with her to prepare for the stay the previous night. The girl was starting to regret that decision, though.

Running her hands through her hair in a weak attempt to work out the tangles, Byakuya then proceeded to shove food into her mouth rather ungracefully. Evidently, she had carried over her tomboyish, rough-edged nature from her childhood into her teens as well.

"Slow down, Byaku-chan. You'll get sick if you eat so fast." Makoto commented, sweatdropping at the sight. Even he didn't eat that fast.

"Mo I vhont." Byakuya responded through a mouthful of toast. Clearly, she had no intention of listening to him when it came to her eating habits.

Makoto just sighed and smiled, resuming work on his cereal. Really, even though puberty had worked it's magic and turned the grubby, broad-shouldered kid he used to get into mud fights with into a more feminine figured young lady, she was still as boyish as ever. He was glad though; he was more comfortable with his old friend this way.

"Kay, I'm done. Thank you for the meal." Byakuya announced after she downed the whole pot of coffee at a record speed. She then stood up from the table, stretching her arms as she headed towards the living room. "And now I'm gonna go take a short nap on the couch, if nobody minds..."

"Not so fast, Byakuya-chan." Kotetsu interrupted sweetly, suddenly appearing behind the girl and grabbing the collar of her uniform, successfully halting the her movement. Kotetsu then whipped out a hairbrush seemingly out of thin air, smiling almost deviously at the Shion. Byakuya sweatdropped immediately. "We can't have you going to school looking like that now, can we?"

Gulping, Byakuya nodded her head, afraid to defy Mrs Tachibana whenever she got into one of her disciplinary moods. Smiling happily, Kotetsu worked her 'mom powers' to turn the formerly messy teen into a picture right out of the school rulebook in a matter of seconds- her hair pulled back into a short ponytail, long bangs brushed back neatly and uniform immaculately pristine.

Makoto stifled his laughter with one hand upon seeing Byakuya's sheepish, embarrassed expression. The poor girl; she really was having a traumatizing day so far.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Mrs Tamura!" Makoto and Byakuya greeted in unison to the old lady standing outside her house. Mrs Tamura had been a neighbour of the Tachibanas for as long as anyone could remember, and the two teens were rather fond of her. She had always offered them snacks when they were kids; a habit that hadn't died even until now.<p>

"Good morning you two! Here, I made you kids some food; I even prepared something extra for your other friend. What's his name... the one that Byakuya-chan likes..."

Byakuya blushed furiously at the comment while Makoto chuckled at her expense. The girl had harboured a crush on Haruka Nanase when they were younger- a rather baseless crush like most little girls had- but had mostly grown out of it.

Mostly.

"Haruka Nanase. And that was years ago, Mrs Tamura." Makoto explained, trying to smooth out the situation.

"Oho. In that case, you'd best make your move now then, Makoto-kun. Now's your chance." The old woman teased laughingly. This time, Makoto blushed right along with Byakuya.

"ANYWAY," Byakuya cut in immediately, grabbing Mako's arm and dragging him with her. "We've really gotta go now, don't want to be late for our first day of school! Thanks again for the food, Mrs Tamura!" She said quickly in a cheerfully forced voice.

"Alright, you two lovebirds, take care now!" The old woman called back, making the two blush even fiercer, if that was even possible.

"... Sorry you had to be subjected to that, Mako." Byakuya sighed apologetically once they were out of earshot, releasing her vice-like grip on her companion's arm; though he hadn't complained about it. "Normally she only targets her old-people assumptions at me."

"No need to apologize, Byaku-chan, it's not your fault." Makoto replied.

"Heh. True... but still. It must've been awkward for you; I'm already used to it." Byakuya shrugged, rubbing her forehead sheepishly.

"Really? I could've sworn your face turned as red as a tomato earlier." Makoto commented teasingly, poking Byakuya's cheek for emphasis. Byakuya just laughed and swatted his hand away- already used to Makoto's light jests. The duo then jogged up the staircase leading to the compound where Haruka resided, only stopping for a short while when they heard a soft 'meow'. A small white kitten crouching by the side of the steps had emitted the sound, and Byakuya dropped to her tights-clad knees to coo at the kitten. "Good morning, Shiro-chan! How's my favourite kitty?"

The kitten ignored her and instead cuddled up to Makoto, who laughed and petted the kitten. "Good morning." He greeted the feline happily.

Byakuya huffed in mock-annoyance. "Well, I feel so loved. All you cats are the same." Makoto just laughed harder at Byakuya's deadpanned tone before they both rose to their feet again, continuing the journey to Haruka's house in a comfortable silence.

Arriving at Haruka's door, Makoto rang the bell and waited a couple of moments. No response. Makoto frowned slightly and took a few steps back to look at the window on the second floor of the house, wondering if Haruka was going through his usual routine of soaking in the tub again. Byakuya in turn huffed impatiently and turned to her tall companion, having to tilt her head upwards slightly to look her friend in the eye.

"Whaddya say we break in again?"

Makoto complied without argument.

* * *

><p>Haruka Nanase had submerged himself in the water of his bathtub, shutting out the real world as his senses clouded over. He was lost in thought as he just lay there with a blank expression on his face, simply enjoying the feel of the cool liquid against his skin. He thought he heard the sound of his doorbell ringing at one point in his daydreaming, but figured that if Makoto and Byakuya were here to get him, they were probably gonna use his back door to get in anyway.<p>

Sure enough, he soon heard a door opening and a Makoto's voice apologizing for the forced entry. The pitter-patter of feet moving through the house followed soon after. He could eventually make out the vague silhouettes of his two friends when they stopped outside his bathroom door and he listened absently as they conversed with each other.

"I'm not going in there." A deep female voice Haruka recognised as Byakuya's insisted stubbornly.

"C'mon Byaku-chan. It's not like you've never seen Haru shirtless before." Makoto's soft, strong voice reasoned.

"There's always the possibility that he finally decided to have a bath like a normal person and isn't wearing his swimming trunks. And I don't wanna be there to behold him in all his manly maleness when it happens. You wouldn't understand, you're a guy."

A sigh. "Fine, you go wait in the dining room then, we'll be down there in a minute."

"Alright. Try not to have too much fun without me." Byakuya jested before her footsteps faded away, indicating that she had left the room.

Haru heard Makoto let out a bark of laughter at the comment before the door to the bathroom opened. "I'm coming in" he announced as he did so. The raven-haired boy emerged from the tub and shook the loose water from his hair as Makoto made his way over, the Tachibana reaching out a hand towards him.

"Good morning, Haru-chan." Makoto greeted, smiling at his best friend.

Haru sighed. "I told you to lay off the '-chan'." He grumbled, before accepting Makoto's hand and standing up from the tub. Sure enough, the boy was wearing his usual black swimming trunks with thin purple stripes running down the sides.

"You were in the bath with your swimsuit on again?" Makoto asked- it was completely rhetorical.

"Buzz off," Haruka retorted, though his voice held no venom. "You're gonna be late for school." He reprimanded emotionlessly.

"That's supposed to be my line..." Makoto sighed.

Haruka dried himself lightly with a towel before making his way downstairs to the kitchen, still wearing nothing but his swimsuit. Makoto trailed behind him as they made their way to the dining room, where Byakuya was sitting at the table- to her credit, she didn't even flinch upon noticing Haruka's shirtlessness.

"'Morning, Haru-kun. Not ready yet, huh? Lucky bastard; you don't have two adorably annoying kids jumping on you and yelling at the top of their lungs to wake you up." She nodded, glaring at Makoto as she did so. The Tachibana laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, not denying the statement. Mako must've set the twins on Byakuya to get her out of bed that morning, Haruka deduced. He just grunted in acknowledgement and continued onwards to the kitchen, where he proceeded to put his apron on and turn to the stove to prepare some mackerel for his breakfast.

"Wait, why are you grilling fish?" Makoto exclaimed.

"I haven't had breakfast yet." Haruka replied simply, ignoring his friend's chagrin.

"And you're wearing an apron over your swimsuit." Makoto pointed out. "Aren't you cold?"

"Don't point it out, hormonal teenage girl trying to enjoy the view here." Byakuya commented blandly, earning an exasperated glance from Makoto.

"I don't want to get oil on my swimsuit." Haruka replied, ignoring Byakuya's outburst. He knew better than to take the girl's random statements seriously.

Makoto deadpanned and looked around the kitchen, where he saw a toaster that was currently toasting some bread "...Fish and toast?" He asked, sweatdropping.

"I'm surprised you haven't sprouted fins and gills yet from the amount of mackerel you consume, Haru-kun." Byakuya commented neutrally.

"That's a little extreme, don't you think, Byaku-chan?"

"How so?"

And so the conversation went on. It continued in a similar fashion even as Haruka dressed and the three of them made their way to school.

"So? Why did you come get me?" Haruka asked his two friends as they walked along the road to school.

"You didn't show up for the opening assembly yesterday." Makoto replied.

"I called in sick."

"Hm. Well, at least you're better than Byaku-chan then; she slept in and spent the whole day playing video games."

Said girl shrugged in confirmation when Haruka gave her an inquisitive glance.

"Anyway, do you two at least know what class you're in?"

No response. Makoto smiled knowingly and informed them. "We're all in the same class again, class 1. We've got a new lady as our homeroom teacher; the students have already given her a nickname."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that yesterday. " Byakuya mused. "What was her name again... Hamu-chan?"

"Eh, no. It's Ama-chan. She teaches classical literature, but she's a little on the odd side..."

Haruka didn't pay much attention to the conversation after that point, choosing instead to turn his sapphire gaze out longingly at the ocean. His companions noticed, but were not offended. Instead, Makoto teased Haruka lightly by voicing the boy's exact thoughts while Byakuya made light comments on how he could resume his swimming when summer came around. That was just the way things were; even though Haruka seemed to do a lot of thinking, he hardly ever spoke unless it was necessary, leaving his friends to do most of the talking for him. While most would see the boy as cold or stand-offish, his companions knew he cared just as deeply for them as they did him, he just didn't express it as much. They did wonder what went on in the raven-haired boy's head on more than one occasion, though.

Makoto personally wished Haruka would be more vocal on his thoughts sometimes, but he never pushed Haruka into doing so; if Haru was going to open up to them, Mako would let him do it in his own time. That was Makoto for you, completely selfless and always placing others' needs before his own. The fact that he had known Haru so long he could practically read his mind helped his patience with the boy as well. The emerald-eyed teen's large, intimidating stature contrasted greatly with his kind personality; truly the epitome of a 'gentle giant'.

Byakuya on the other hand just took things as they were. Though she loved her friends dearly, she wasn't nearly as selfless as Makoto. She preferred to be the one who broke the tension and joked around- the laughmaker. The girl was also sharp-tongued and witty, and had a potty mouth that would send sailors running for cover. Despite their contrasting personalities, the trio were extremely close. They had been through years together and their experiences only served to strengthen their bond.

As they walked to school at their own leisurely pace, they were blissfully unaware of the challenges that were about to be thrown their way that year. New bonds would be formed, masks broken, old rivalries rekindled...their friendship would soon become an even more important thing in their lives than ever before.

But just for that one morning, they were just three friends happily falling into their established monotony that would soon be shattered, for better or for worse.

* * *

><p>AN: Whaddap, readers! So, this is my first attempt at fanfiction- I apologize if it was bad or anything. If it was though, please leave a comment on how you think I could adjust my writing and improve the story; it would be most appreciated! Anyway, I made this fic mostly for the purpose of delving a little more into the characters of Free and to add another different POV on the tribulations of growing up- which is the main focus of the original series anyway. There won't be much original plot in here- I apologize if that was what you were hoping for. I also don't plan to make the OC steal the spotlight or anything, rather I want to make her fit in somehow like a normal member of the cast- if ever at some point you think I've done otherwise, please let me know! I am aware that I put quite a bit of info on the OC in this chapter, but I thought I'd do that to clarify some things before advancing the story. I hope she doesn't seem like a Sue (If she does, you readers know what to do!) Also, please note that the names I have given to Makoto's parents are entirely made up- they aren't mentioned in the anime, so... yeah. XD<p>

In any case, I thank you for stopping by and reading this OC fic- most would ignore such fics and head straight for the yaoi department (I would know. I do that too sometimes *cough*) So yeah! In the words of our favourite swimming anime- See you next water time! ;D


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own my OC.**

"Good morning students!" A youthful brunette woman greeted as she stood at the front of the class, smiling at the students she would be teaching. "To those of you who weren't here for yesterday's opening ceremony; I'm your new Homeroom teacher, Miho Amakata. You may call me Amakata-sensei. I am pleased to meet you all."

Byakuya was hardly listening as she doodled absently in her book at the back of the class. The new Literature and Homeroom teacher Makoto had told her about seemed nice enough, but she was never inclined to pay much attention to introduction speeches, which was the whole reason she had skipped the opening ceremony yesterday. As usual, the girl had taken a place next to Makoto, who in turn sat next to Haruka. It was practically a tradition for those three to keep together, whether it was sitting in class, eating lunch or walking to and from school. This year wasn't an exception.

The girl stretched out her long legs as Miho-sensei read out the attendance list. She was just waiting for Miho-sensei to reach Haruka's name first and confuse his gender. It was a common occurence; both he and Makoto did have a rather feminine names- a trait she shared with them, only in her case it was the other way around. Haruka's name always came first, however, as the list went in alphabetical order. Any second now...

"...Miss Nanase Haruka?"

There it was. The whole class erupted into laughter at the woefully misplaced title. Byakuya just kicked her legs lightly while Makoto raised his hand and corrected their teacher, who apologized for the mix-up. Haruka- as always- stayed silent about the whole ordeal, but Byakuya knew the boy was disgruntled at being confused for a woman despite how often it happened. She went back to doodling as Makoto made some comment to Haruka that made the boy look away in exasperation.

A similar thing happened for Byakuya, but Makoto was exempted since Amakata-sensei had apparently made that mistake already yesterday. Byakuya had to admit- she felt slightly guilty for having left Makoto to endure that day alone after she found out...

Only slightly though.

No matter what it was, unless Makoto was under the threat of being mauled by rabid wolves or something equally disastrous, it was highly doubtful that anything would ever make Byakuya break her record of not attending opening ceremonies. Ever.

* * *

><p>Classes proceeded normally up until lunchtime, and the trio made their way to their usual spot on the roof.<p>

"I didn't bring any food." Haruka pointed out as they neared the foot of the staircase leading up to the roof.

"Don't worry, we gotcha covered." Byakuya responded, holding out the box that Mrs Tamura had given to Makoto and her that morning. Opening the lid, they peered inside and found squid inside it.

"Huh, looks like Mrs Tamura still recalls your preferences, Haru-chan. Good thing she remembers you as the boy Byaku-chan likes, eh?" Makoto commented, earning a playful shove and glare from the Shion girl.

"I told you Mako, that was ages a-"

"Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Bya-kun!" A cheerful voice suddenly cut off Byakuya in the middle of her sentence. At the bottom of the steps leading up to their floor there stood a wavy-haired blonde boy who was waving enthusiastically at the trio. His short stature and somewhat childish features that puberty hadn't yet started on suggested that he was a first-year student. "It's been forever! I'll be joining you guys here at Iwatobi High!" The boy greeted cheerfully.

"...Haru-chan?" Haruka repeated slowly, turning to face his two friends in confusion.

"Mako-chan?" Makoto returned, just as perplexed as he was.

"I haven't heard those names since..." Byakuya trailed off before all three of them gasped in realization and spun towards the blonde, whose dark pink eyes shone with excitement as he met their astonished gaze.

"Nagisa?" They exclaimed in unison. The boy just tilted his head to the side and grinned.

* * *

><p>Nagisa Hazuki was a year younger than his three friends, but due to his long-time acquaintance with them since their kindergarten years, he felt no need to address them with the '-senpai' suffix. The blonde boy had always been an exuberant ball of sunshine even since they were children, and he retained that innocent happiness even until now. He was currently hanging out with the trio on the roof, reminiscing about the old times as they finished their lunches.<p>

"Then there was that one time when we pulled a prank on Mako-chan, and he got so scared he couldn't move! Bya-kun got so panicky she fell into the water and nearly_ killed_ Haru-chan!" Nagisa laughed as he recalled the story.

"I did not _'nearly kill'_ him! Fine, so I was pretty big for a girl, that doesn't make it much different than if one of you guys had fallen on him!" Byakuya denied huffily.

"Actually Byaku-chan... you beat a lot of us guys in the size department back then..." Makoto corrected sheepishly.

"Shut up Mako. That's an exaggeration."

"You were quite heavy." Haruka added his input.

"Oh man, not you too Haru. It's like the whole universe is against me today!" She cried out in a deliberately dramatic fashion, falling onto Makoto's broad frame for emphasis. "What did I ever do to you, universe?"

"Who's the one exaggerating now..?" Makoto laughed as he ruffled the girl's hair, prompting the others to join in the laughter. That is, three of them did- Haru remained rather passive, though Makoto swore he saw a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth.

"Ah, those were great times," Nagisa sighed, gazing out over the view of the town happily.

"How many years has it been?" Makoto asked inquisitively. "I don't think we've seen you since the swimming club shut down."

"Yeah, that'd because I went to another school." Nagisa explained before he perked up all of a sudden.

"Hey, there are sakura trees by the pool!" He exclaimed at the discovery. "Weren't there sakura trees next to the pool back at your old grade school, Haru-chan?"

"Will you please stop calling me that?" Haruka replied exasperatedly.

"But that's your name, Haru-chan." The blonde responded. Haruka deadpanned and locked eyes with the underclassman's innocent gaze briefly before the other two teens present decided to cut in.

"In any case, those sakura trees do make a nostalgic sight." Byakuya commented wistfully.

"Yeah. It's just too bad that old pool hasn't been used for years now." Makoto added. "There's no swim club here either."

"But then... where do you swim now, Haru-chan?" Nagisa asked curiously, tilting his head in a childlike fashion.

Haruka's eyes hardened ever so slightly. "I quit swimming competitively." He replied curtly.

"Wha? But why'd you quit?" Nagisa asked in confusion,and as he did so, Makoto and Byakuya exchanged a quick glance. It was the same question they themselves had pondered about. Over the years, they had suggested several theories, but none were completely concrete, given that Haruka never did explain himself. "I got all excited about getting to swim with you guys again in high school!"

"We're not kids anymore." Haruka stated stiffly, his hard voice making Makoto wince. "Things aren't the same way they used to be."

"Haru-chan..." Nagisa was devastated. Ever since they were children, the boy had admired Haruka's swimming; the blonde had compared Haruka to a dolphin due to his extraordinary skills. To hear that his hopes of swimming alongside him again were crushed...

Here, Makoto decided to intervene again, sensing Nagisa's distress. "Well, he may have stopped swimming competitively, but he still loves the water!" He said jokingly. "Haru can't live without being in water; in the summer he swims in the ocean and just this morning he was soaking himself in the tub."

"Which only further supports my theory that Haru-kun's actually a merman in disguise." Byakuya jabbed lightly.

"But what does that have to do with swimming?" Nagisa exclaimed indignantly. "That just means he likes baths!"

Byakuya laughed. "Ah, Nagi-kun. I missed you and your sense of humour."

"... but it wasn't a joke..." Nagisa mumbled, puffing his cheeks out and pouting slightly. Byakuya just ruffled his hair; a habit she'd been starting to pick up from Mako.

"Cut it out!" Nagisa exclaimed, laughing as he brushed off Byakuya's hand, before an idea came to him. "Hey! I know!" He turned back to Haruka, wearong a grin on his face. "What about a hot springs club? Let's start a hot springs club~" the pink-eyed boy sang as he shook Haruka's shoulders.

"I can't stand the heat." Haruka replied simply, turning his head away from the first-year.

"Aww, Haru-channnnn~"

"I said not to call me that."

As the two teens bickered, Makoto smiled at the sight before him and traded a knowing look with Byakuya. The scenario reminded him of better times- when they were just children having innocent fun, utterly oblivious to the worries of the cruel world and when all that mattered was the happiness of the present. To see that Nagisa, hadn't changed over the years... it was comforting to have yet another aspect of familiarity in their lives.

Suddenly, Makoto caught a flash of maroon out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head towards the source, where he saw a familiar looking, redheaded girl eating with her friend. They were evidently first-years, and the rehead was staring at their little group rather intently. Makoto frowned. The first-year girl looked rather familiar, but he just couldn't put his finger on it...

"Byaku-chan," Makoto called. The girl turned her attention to the tall boy before he continued. "That girl sitting over there, the one with the scarlet hair... do you recognize her?" He asked, gesturing with his head conspicuously in the direction of the subject. Byakuya raised an eyebrow, but didn't question the boy.

The girl shifted her body slightly before pretending to stretch her arms to get a small glance through her long bangs at who Mako was referring to. The Shion caught the stare of the girl with the ponytail, and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly before she turned back to Makoto.

"You're right, she does look familiar; it's at the tip of my brain, but I just can't figure it out... " Byakuya mused, her brows furrowing in thought.

"Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked, a hint of concern lacing his voice when the girl fell silent for a long while. Byakuya blinked once before she looked up at her friend's gentle gaze and shook her head, smiling at him reassuringly.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. It'll come back to me later."

"All you're just gonna start thinking about later is what you're having for dinner." Makoto teased.

"I am not gonna argue with that statement." Byakuya laughed, her olive-haired friend joining her while their two friends continued their banter. For a moment, they forgot about the girl with the increasingly familiar red hair, who still gazed at them with a million thoughts running through her head...

* * *

><p>"Hey, have you heard?" Nagisa asked his buddies as they were headed towards the staircase that would lead them back into the school building. "The swimming club we went to in grade school is gonna be torn down soon." As the boy was prancing down the steps with his arms stretched wide, he had a sudden idea and turned around abruptly to face his friends again. "So before that happens, why don't we pay a visit?"<p>

Makoto felt Byakuya and Haruka both stiffen beside him at the mention of the old club and shot them a worried glance. "To dig that up?" He asked.

"Exactly!" The first-year replied enthusiastically, oblivious to his two dark-haired friends' reluctance. "We can sneak in at night, and-"

"You can go by yourself." Haru suddenly cut off Nagisa in the middle of his sentence, continuing his walk down the stairs. The sole female of the group nodded absently in agreement. Haruka looked rather passive, like always, though there seemed to be a more intense gleam in his blue eyes, while Byakuya wore a disturbingly blank look on her face and had developed a strange fascination with the cement stairs.

"Don't say that!" Nagisa cried, grasping the two pessimistic teens by the shoulders. "Come with us, Haru-chan, Bya-kun." the blonde pleaded, putting on his best puppy-dog face. Unfortunately, they were unaffected by the look.

"I'm not going." The boy said stiffly, turning away from his friend. Byakuya did the same.

"Don't you think it'll be fun?" Nagisa tried again.

"I don't." Haruka and Byakuya deadpanned in unison. Nagisa groaned and leaned heavily on Haruka while Makoto chuckled at the scene.

"Why don't you just humor him?" He suggested, trying his part to convince them to go.

"I'll only go if he does." Byakuya responded, gesturing to Haruka. Beat that.

"And I won't. It's too troublesome." Haruka replied

"There's a pool there, yknow..." Makoto said slyly.

That got Haruka's attention. They could see his resolve crumbling; all he needed was one more little push...

"A pool is much bigger than a bathtub..." Makoto added.

A brief pause. And then, Haruka turned his head back up towards his friend, blue eyes shining and a faint blush on his cheeks. He was so hooked.

Byakuya wanted to push Makoto off the roof at that moment. Really, despite his gentle nature, Makoto could be quite manipulative sometimes. And now, since Haruka was obviously going, she had to to tag along as well.

_'_Deceptive cow_.'_ She fumed inwardly._ '_Deceptive, annoying, frustrating...extremely handsome cow with the most beautiful eyes in the whole world_.'_

Byakuya had no idea where that came from. And she was going to pretend she hadn't actually thought the last part.

"Alright! Then it's settled then!" Nagisa exclaimed, practically leaping with excitement. "We're going to go visit the Iwatobi Swim Club! How does 7.30 pm tonight sound?"

Makoto agreed and Haruka just nodded absently while Nagisa chattered on as they walked down the stairs. Suddenly, Makoto remembered that Byakuya hadn't said a single thing about why she hadn't wanted to go, and he highly doubted that she shared the same reasons as Haruka (though he doubted that Haruka had given the real reason for his reluctance as well). He berated himself for his thoughtlessness and turned around to look at the black-haired girl trailing behind them, waiting for her to catch up before placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Are you really okay with this, Byaku-chan?" He asked kindly. The girl blinked and turned her eyes to her companion's concerned face, as if only just realizing he was there.

"Y-yeah... I'm fine. I'm fine! Don't worry about it, it sounds fun!" She assured a little too quickly, a forced smile on her face. It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself of that fact instead of the other way around. Makoto thought about pursuing the subject further, but was cut off by Nagisa who eagerly told them to hurry up as classes were about to begin.

"We'd better move it then. Don't want Mr Hasegawa to rail at us." Byakuya continued cheerily, still wearing that fake smile on her face as she ushered her olive-haired friend down the stairs.

Makoto frowned at that- it was obvious that Byakuya wasn't telling him something. It was slightly discomforting, seeing as the girl had told him everything ever since they were kids- he'd even been the first one she'd told about her crush on Haruka. To see her trying to hide something from him now... it made him uncomfortable, for some reason.

However, given the lack of time right now, Makoto decided he'd simply ask her about it later. Nodding to himself, he bid Nagisa farewell and headed to class with his two friends.

Byakuya's state of mind was just one of the many things that would come to light in the turn of events about to take place that night. And what was to come would only be the beginning of the biggest ride of the teens' lives.

* * *

><p>AN: Ooh, somewhat foreboding end sentence *shot*<br>Anyhoo, fast update, I know, but I've the urge to write just asdfghjkl. And here we bring in everyone's favourite blondie! Seriously, Nagisa's just the most adorable thing. I look forward to writing the inner workings of his mind- I like to think that behind that goofy attitude, the kid's actually really intelligent and thoughtful. He does prove it several times in the series, if you look closely.  
>Also, we also have more descriptions about Byakuya's appearance. I was hoping to let give the impression that she isn't the most petite female due to her involvement in swimming, though she isn't the most manly figure either. If you guys would like to adjust her to your own personal images, you can do that, since the only major parts of her appearance is her hair and eyes. That's it for this AN, see you guys next chapter! (Probably soon too, the muse is killing me XD)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Wow, you live by yourself, Haru-chan?" Nagisa asked curiously as he fished out the shovel hidden in the cupboard of Haru's house. It was after school, and they had stopped by Haru's house to get the things they needed for their venture that night.

"His mom went with his dad when he had to move because of work." Makoto explained on Haru's behalf.

The Nanase boy was currently at his stove, preparing some food for his friends. However, his palate choice was somewhat unappealing to Makoto, mostly because it was...

"Fish again, Haru?" The boy asked, forest-green eyes drooping in disappointment.

"No one's forcing you to eat it." Haruka replied simply.

"Just cuz you enjoy living on a dolphin's diet doesn't mean the rest of us do." Byakuya said, sweatdropping.

"Looks delicious!" Nagisa said enthusiastically. The boy was the only one who didn't seem to mind; probably because he hadn't been subjected to eating it constantly for the past 10 years or so. "Haru-chan always was a good cook!"

"...So, are you sure about doing this?" Makoto asked, suddenly solemn. He was evidently referring to their plan to visit the Iwatobi Swim Club that night.

"Huh?" Nagisa said, confused. "Weren't you all for it earlier? Are you getting scared?"

"That's not what he's trying to say, Nagi-kun..." Byakuya said quietly.

"I meant if it was okay for just the four of us to dig it up." Makoto explained patiently.

"Well, it can't be helped." Nagisa said, frowning. "Rin-chan isn't in Japan anymore."

Haruka was quiet as his companions chattered while he recalled the memories of his old friend. He remembered the day clearly, as if it just happened yesterday...

* * *

><p>The twelve-year old Haruka stood in front of the low brick wall obscured by a cherry blossom tree, which was currently bare due to the wintry cold. Standing next to him were his three friends; Makoto Tachibana, Byakuya Shion...<p>

...and Rin Matsuoka.

They were all just idly gazing at the scribblings on the wall, when suddenly Rin announced, "...I won't be attending middle school here."

Haruka was shell-shocked as he turned to stare at his redheaded friend, surprise and confusion evident in his ocean-blue eyes.

"What?" Byakuya exclaimed, whipping her head around to face Rin, her boy-cut black hair swaying with the movement.

"Whaddya mean, Rin?" Makoto continued, perplexed at his friend's sudden proclamation. The green-haired boy had voiced the question they all wanted to ask.

"I'm going to Australia." The boy replied simply, though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes at having to leave his friends behind.

"You're going to a different country?" Makoto exclaimed, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. None of them could.

"Yep. I'm going to a swimming school."

Haruka swallowed hard and turned back to look at the wall again, staring particularly intensely at a single sentence.

'For The Team.'

"...what are you trying to do?" Makoto asked quietly, still trying to comprehend the fact that he wouldn't be seeing his friend again for a long time.

Rin grinned as he looked up into the sky. "I'm gonna be an Olympic swimmer! Just like Mikasa-obasan was!"

Haruka's expression darkened and his fists clenched as Rin announced his dream. He was leaving. After all the time they spent together, all the trouble he went through to get everyone to join the relay, all the laughter and fun they had shared... he was leaving Japan. Leaving them. And he had known. All this time, Rin knew he was going to leave. Haruka felt something akin to rage bubble in the pits of his stomach.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Makoto continued while Byakuya fell silent at the mention of her mother; who at the time was still very sick. "What about the relay?"

Rin shrugged and started walking away. "I'm still gonna be swimming in the relay, I'm just leaving the day after the tournament."

"So soon?" Byakuya asked, stunned. This was all happening so fast.

"Yep. So this will be the last time the four of us will be swimming together." The boy said nonchalantly, referring to himself, Nagisa, Haruka and Makoto. Byakuya was a girl and thus couldn't participate with the four of them, though with the amount of time she joined them for practice and hung out with them she was practically one of the boys herself. Makoto gazed worriedly at Haruka, who was glaring at the ground; even as a child he was rather well-attuned to his friend's emotions.

"...I only swim freestyle." Haruka said despondently. It was something he always said, and those were also one of the first sentences he'd spoken to Rin.

"That's exactly why you have to swim in the relay," Rin responded, clutching his hand into a fist in determination and spinning around to look Haruka in the eye. "This is our last chance. Let's swim together, Nanase."

The raven-haired boy didn't respond, staring blankly at the ground as a breeze blew around them, enveloping them in a comfortable coolness.

"...If you swim with me..." Rin added slowly, catching Haruka's attention. The maroon-eyed boy grinned and placed his hands behind his head in a carefree manner.

"...I'll show you a sight you've never seen before."

The words reverberated in Haruka's head. The boy would always remember that sentence for years and years to come, and he would never forget the way Rin had grinned so confidently as he said those words.

And indeed, Rin had not disappointed.

* * *

><p>"I found a flashlight!" Byakuya announced as she barged into Makoto's room without knocking. The boy was drying his hair, having just finished his bath and grinned wryly at the girl. They were both dressed in similar casual wear consisting of a normal t-shirt and jeans.<p>

"You really need to learn how to knock, Byaku-chan. What if I had been indecent?" He said jokingly. Byakuya snorted as she jumped onto his bed and lay there on her back.

"Yeah right. You always change in the bathroom." She had a point. The fact that she even knew about his changing habits was a testament to how well the two of them knew each other. Granted, she wasn't nearly as close to Makoto as Haruka was- the two had known each other longer and were in a whole different zone Byakuya could never even hope to touch- but she was a close second. "Besides, it's not like I've never seen you shirtless before."

"You definitely didn't react that way when we went to pick up Haru." He teased lightly as he put on his glasses. He normally preferred to use his contacts, but at home he decided to use the chunky black frames. Byakuya frowned and threw a pillow at him, which he caught easily.

"That's different and you know it." she huffed in annoyance.

"I don't see how that is. Didn't you say you got over your little crush?"

"Mako!"

"Alright, alright!" He said, laughing at the girls' red face. "But seriously though, I don't see why you're still so shy around him." He commented while he rummaged through his drawers. They were going to the Iwatobi Swim Club that night, and they each needed to bring along torchlights of their own.

"Well, I still get sorta awkward whenever I see him, alright? It's like a part of my mind still can't get over the fact that I don't like him anymore, and I can't get it to cooperate! It's infuriating!" She sighed exasperatedly.

Makoto chuckled at Byakuya's expense. It was so unlike her to be concerned about such trivial, girly things.

They were going to head out to pick up Haruka soon and meet with Nagisa at the entrance of the old swim club. Byakuya had decided to spend yet another night over at the Tachibanas for the late night escapade, and also because she was apparently too lazy to walk the mere 30 feet it took to get from Makoto's place to her house.

"Oh yeah. Byaku-chan, I've been meaning to ask you about what happened in school earlier today..." Makoto started slowly, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Yeah? What about it?" To anyone else, Byakuya would have seemed nonchalant about the question, but Makoto saw how her expression had become more guarded and the slight sharpness that appeared in her dark eyes.

"You know what I'm talking about, Byaku-chan." He pressed. Makoto was a lot more direct with Byakuya when it came to getting her to voice her thoughts compared to Haruka, who he often left alone to wander in his own thoughts. Sometimes Byakuya wondered if that was a blessing or a curse.

Byakuya sighed and rubbed her forehead out of habit. There was no point in playing dumb, she concluded. "It's... it's sorta difficult to explain, and it's a pretty long story, so... can it wait till after we come back later?" Seeing Makoto's unyielding expression, she sighed and tried again "I'll tell you everything you want to know, I promise. It isn't that big of a deal anyway; just some things I need to confirm..."

After Makoto continued scrutinizing her through his black-rimmed glasses for a long moment, he finally relented. "Fine...You gotta pinky swear though." He added as an afterthought.

"What?" Byakuya asked, surprised at the request. "Mako, we're not 7 years old, yknow. I'll keep any promises I make without the need for weird hand gestures."

"Just to make sure," Makoto said, smiling as her put out his pinky for her to grab with her own. "Cmon Byaku-chan, you gotta do it~"

After a little more coaxing on Makoto's part, Byakuya finally laughed and played along, interlocking her pinky with his. "Alright, alright. Pinky swear. You're just making me do this so you can guilt me into spilling the beans later." she accused.

"I'm hurt, Byaku-chan. How could you think so lowly of me?" Makoto said innocently, prompting the both of them to laugh again. "Cmon, I need you to help me find my contacts; I seem to have misplaced them again."

As the two teens made idle conversation while searching high and low for the contact lenses (which they would later find out had been stolen by the twins, who received a vicious tickle fest as punishment), they forgot all about the trip they were making that night.

Unbeknownst to them, the events that were about to transpire that night would soon be forever embedded into their memories.

* * *

><p>AN: Double update today because I had enough time to do so. As you guys could probably tell, I've had the draft for the first parts of this story for quite a while, which explains the uber quick updates (I mean, two days, four chapters, that's outrageous.) AN continues in the next chapter~<p>


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"The place is pretty trashed." Makoto commented as he held a shovel in front of him. The four teens had gathered in front of the old swim club, which was rundown and dark after years of abandonment. Nagisa hmm'd thoughtfully before digging into his pockets and fishing something out.

"Here, just in case," the blonde held out a white piece of paper which held a grainy white substance. "Purifying salt." The boy clarified.

"Salt?" Makoto asked confusedly.

"You sure you aren't trying to slip us some drugs or something? Cuz I know a drug that looks pretty similar... ouch" Byakuya cut herself off as she received a reprimanding smack on the head from Makoto.

"Of course not Bya-kun!" Nagisa cried, appalled before he turned back to look at the old building again. "They say the place is haunted." He muttered seriously.

Makoto sweatdropped and smiled nervously. "Don't scare me, please..."

"I'm not lying!" Nagisa exclaimed loudly, making Makoto jump slightly. "People have seen shadows moving and heard people sobbing in these hallways." Nagisa continued eerily.

Makoto cringed and grabbed onto the back of Byakuya's black jacket, and the girl reached back and gave his hand a reassuring pat. Makoto was somewhat faint-hearted despite his appearance, but Byakuya did not doubt for one second that he couldn't hold his own in a fight if anything ever came down to that. It was hard to imagine anyone ever trying to raise a hand against the gentle boy, though.

"Hold still!" Nagisa ordered the trembling youth as he scattered salt around him, doing the same for Byakuya and Haruka as well.

"Hey." Haruka suddenly called out in realization. Everyone turned towards him.

"W-what is it?" Makoto asked shakily.

"This isn't salt... it's sugar." Haruka stated after tasting the white substance.

Poor Makoto looked like he was gonna faint while Nagisa looked horrified at the mix-up.

Byakuya sighed. "Yup. Now I really wish it was drugs."

This time, Makoto didn't smack her head.

* * *

><p>"Well, it's all mental anyway, so sugar will get the job done!" Nagisa commented optimistically as they all walked through the dank halls of the abandoned building.<p>

"Clichéd as hell." Haruka responded, making Byakuya snort in agreement.

"Well, it is one of the oldest mistakes out there.." Makoto stated, before he was cut off by something crashing.

The olive-haired boy gave a slight shriek and immediately hid behind Haru. "W-what was that?" He cried. Byakuya took a deep breath and retained her poker face, trying to make it seem like she didn't almost scream like a little girl.

"Ehehe..." Nagisa laughed sheepishly. "I accidentally kicked an empty can..."

The three other teens glared at the younger boy.

"...You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!" Makoto accused.

"You always were afraid of the dark." Nagisa commented.

"Mmhm. You nearly beat me to death with a pillow when you thought I was a night monster during that one sleepover. If not for Haru-kun you'd probably have succeeded. " Byakuya mused.

"You guys aren't helping any!" Makoto cried.

"Sorry." Nagisa and Byakuya apologized in unison, though neither didn't sound too sincere.

They walked past several familiar places like the locker rooms and boiler room, reminiscing about the club's better days when everything wasn't so downtrodden.

"Ah, this brings back memories." Nagisa said wistfully.

"It's not nearly as trashed on the inside as I thought." Makoto commented thoughtfully. The teens soon slowed down as they neared a particularly familiar spot.

"This is.." Nagisa trailed off as he rushed into the room.

"The lounge!" Makoto said, recognizing several old aspects from the once pristine room. There were still several pieces of furniture that hadn't been moved, and the pictures that had been stuck onto the walls were still there. Nagisa and Byakuya made their way over to the photo-plastered wall, the latter shuffling towards one particular picture in the corner and gazing almost mournfully at it. As she did so, she vaguely noticed Nagisa calling out to them to come and view another picture, much to her impatience. Quietly removing the picture she had been observing from the wall, she pocketed it before walking over to where Nagisa and the others were standing, wondering what could have caught their attentions.

"Look!" He was saying exuberantly. "It's the picture of us from when we won the relay!"

Indeed it was. The picture showed five 12-year olds, four of whom were boys wearing gold medals around their necks. In the middle stood a young Haruka, stoically looking away from the camera with a bored expression on his face while a grinning redheaded boy- Rin Matsuoka- had his arm draped around Haru's neck. Rin also held a blue trophy loosely in his other arm. Next to Haru stood Makoto, who was wearing a closed-eyed smile and making the stereotypical 'peace' sign while Nagisa had one arm thrown behind Rin's back and the other stretched up high in an enthusiastic salute. Kneeling on the floor in front of the boys was a young Byakuya, who was smiling widely and pumping her fist in the air, looking just as ecstatic as the boys in the picture even though she had no medal herself.

They all looked so carefree and happy in the picture, and Byakuya couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of nostalgia. She clearly recalled the day of the relay, the day right before Rin was to leave for Australia. She remembered feeling the hoarseness of her throat as she cheered her friends on and watched as they took their respective turns to finish the lap across the pool. It was beautiful, exhilarating... she wished the moment would never have ended

After the race, they had all gone out to an old, quiet spot behind the swim club. She closed her eyes briefly as she recalled that wonderful, sunny day...

* * *

><p><em>"We all won this together," Rin proclaimed as he placed the trophy inside the box they planned to bury. "So it doesn't make sense if only one of us takes it home. Instead, let's use it as a time capsule and dig it up when we're grown up!" He finished exuberantly as he put the lid on the box and stood up, and glanced at his four companions and smiled cheekily. "Romantic, huh?"<em>

_Haru scoffed and looked away; sometimes the comments his friend made were rather unnerving._

_"You're such a girl, Rin-kun." Byakuya teased, though she was secretly touched at her friend's sentimental gesture._

_"Well, of course you would think that; you're manlier than all of us put together!" Rin retorted, grinning tauntingly._

_"Oh, stop it you guys!" Nagisa whined, latching himself onto Rin's arm. "Rin-chan's gonna be leaving soon, don't fight~"_

_The scarlet-haired boy laughed and brought all his friends into a group huddle, before his expression turned wistful. "No matter what," he whispered in a melancholy tone, though his smile never left his face. "I'll never forget you guys. Ever. You'll always be my best buddies."_

_That made Byakuya bite her lip, struggling to keep her expression straight. There were too many emotions running through her head; happiness from winning the relay, sadness from Rin's eventual departure, and exhaustion from taking care of her sick mother. It was all too much, and after Rin's declaration she just couldn't help it- the tears just spilled over._

_"Byaku-chan!" Makoto exclaimed worriedly, while everyone else was stunned. This was the first time any of them had seen the tough, upbeat girl break down like this, and they had no idea what to do or say._

_Byakuya sniffed and wiped her sleeve over her face, embarrassed at having her friends see her being so weak. "I-I'm sorry... it's just-" her voice broke before she could finish the sentence, and she buried her face in her hands._

_Haruka's eyes softened as he looked at the sniffling girl, his usually passive expression gentling. She had been a loyal companion to him for years- always sticking up for him and cracking jokes in an attempt to get him to smile. To see her like this now... he decided he needed to repay the favor now. And so, he did the first thing that came to mind when it came to comforting girls._

_He hugged her._

_Byakuya froze up for a moment, the sudden contact catching her off guard. However, she eventually relaxed and returned the gesture gratefully, burying her face into the boys' shoulder._

_It was at that moment that she developed her first crush._

_Rin smiled upon seeing Haru's uncomfortable expression when Byakuya clung to him; the Nanase obviously wasn't used to comforting others, that much was evident._

_"Hey, hey. Cmon, I'm supposed to be the girly one, remember? Don't cry, Byaku-chan... if you keep this up I think I might cry too." He said, only half-joking as he joined in on the hug._

_"S-sorry..." Byakuya coughed out, though her face remained tucked into Haruka's shirt._

_"Oi, you guys!" Rin called out to the other two boys who were just standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. "Get your butts here; she's your friend too, y'know!"_

_Though it took a bit of convincing, all of them came together in a big group hug, making odd comments and laughing until Byakuya's tears ceased and she joined in on the laughter. That was the way they were- they would never let even one of their friends feel down without going back to pick them up. They were a team, and they were all in this together._

_"I'm gonna miss you, Rin-kun. We all will." Byakuya murmured quietly after the laughter had died down,. The maroon-eyed boy simply smiled and squeezed his arm tighter around her shoulders, no letting his own sadness show through as he grinned at her._

_"It's okay, just because I'm going overseas doesn't mean I'll be gone forever!" He chirped optimistically. "We'll meet up again for sure! And then we'll be able to swim together again, alright Byakuya?"_

* * *

><p>"... ku-chan. Byaku-chan!"<p>

The Shion girl snapped out of her daydream upon being called, and turned towards her three comrades, who were already starting to make a move. She laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head, trying to seem nonchalant.

"Sorry, got a little lost on memory lane." She explained.

"Geez, you and Haru-chan both... we're supposed to be on a mission here!" Nagisa cried. Byakuya just smiled as she jogged up to her friends and exited the room- there was no need for them to remain here, after all.

"What photo did you take from the wall, Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked quietly as she caught up. That prompted the girl to turn her astonished brown gaze towards her tall friend; she didn't think anyone had seen her remove the photo.

"...I'll tell you later, okay? I promised I'd tell you whatever you wanted to know, remember? Pinky-sweared on it too." She answered, smiling wryly. Makoto seemed to want to pry a little more, but agreed to drop the subject until later; she probably wanted to talk about it when they were alone.

"Do you think the marker's still there?" Nagisa asked absently as they continued down the hall.

"Dunno, but could we pick up the pace a little?" Makoto muttered, reverting back to his terrified state and clinging onto Haruka's blue hoodie. Suddenly, the olive-haired boy stopped, and in doing so prevented Haruka's movement as well. There was a dark silhouette moving towards them from the hallway on their right, and Makoto's breath hitched as he prepared to face the advancing figure. Byakuya had stopped as well, and raised her arms in a defensive stance, ready to unleash all those fighting moves her brother had taught her on whatever it was that was headed their way.

As the figure approached, Byakuya could make out a tall, gangly figure; evidently male. She relaxed slightly upon realizing that it was a normal person and not something supernatural, but did not move out of her defensive stance. The boy looked to be around their age, and was clad in dark sweatpants and a matching jacket over a navy blue shirt. He also wore a shark tooth pendant on a thin string around his neck and a cap on his head, obscuring the view of his face.

When the boy came even closer, Byakuya was able to catch a glimpse of red eyes and maroon hair beneath the shadow of the cap. Upon noticing this, her eyes widened and she let her arms fall to the side immediately. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. And judging from Haru's sharp intake of breath next to her, he had clearly seen what she had and come to the same realization.

The figure stopped right in front of the group of teenagers, tilting his cap as he greeted them curtly in his deep voice.

"Yo."

"...who's that?" Nagisa whispered.

"I can't tell!" Makoto whispered right back.

"I didn't think I'd run into you guys here," The scarlet-haired boy commented as he reached behind his head and, in a gesture they all immediately recognized, pulled the elastic band of his cap and let it snap back down.

"Rin-chan!" "Rin!" Nagisa and Makoto both exclaimed in unison as the boy removed his cap. Haruka and Byakuya were both quiet; the dark-haired boy wore an unreadable expression on his face as the girl next to him just gaped at the sight before her.

'I don't believe it...' Byakuya thought to herself, forcing her mouth to shut. After all these years, Rin was back! She put her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her ecstasy.

"Rin-kun. .." she managed to squeak out, her eyes shining with joy.

"You're back from Australia!" Nagisa cried happily, immediately grabbing the boy's hands with his own.

"What are you doing here though? " Makoto asked, obviously referring to why he was in this rundown building like they were.

"It must be fate!" Nagisa proclaimed dramatically. "Some unseen force brought as all here together at the same ti-"

"Haru," Rin called out suddenly, cutting off Nagisa in the middle of his sentence. It was then that Byakuya noticed that Rin's face had remained stone cold the whole time- not a single ounce of the happiness that she was feeling upon seeing her old friend was even remotely shown on the teen's face. Her good mood plunged drastically; something wasn't right.

"You still hanging out with these guys? You never learn." Rin continued, his voice icy.

Byakuya bristled at the way he said that; like they were beneath him. Why the little- he thought just because he'd gotten some fancy education overseas he could treat the rest of them like dirt? The girl took a step forward to give the cocky boy a piece of her mind-possibly a piece of her fist too- but Makoto, probably sensing her murderous intent, put a hand on the girl's shoulder to placate her.

"What are you talking about, Rin?" Makoto asked, a hint of hurt showing on his face. Nagisa wore a similar expression, though his disappointment was more evident.

"And what about you?" Haruka interrupted, getting Rin's attention. "Have you learned anything?"

"Haru?" Makoto asked worriedly, but he was interrupted yet again by Rin's arrogant voice, which didn't help satiate Byakuya's fury. She hated it when people talked over Makoto like he wasn't even there.

"I'm glad you asked," The Matsuoka boy smirked and rolled his neck. "Why don't I show you? Let's race, Haru." He shrugged, turning his back on them and walking in the direction of the old pool room like everyone else besides Haru was invisible.

Oh yeah. Byakuya really wanted to strangle the boy with his own intestines now.

"Race?" Makoto exclaimed. Haruka just followed Rin without a single comment. "Haru?" Makoto tried again, but was once again ignored.

Byakuya wouldn't have minded adding Haruka to her hit-list at that moment too.

"...Did we just get ditched?" Nagisa deadpanned as the two boys walked away from them.

"Looks like it." Makoto said, exchanging a look with the blonde. Before Byakuya could blink, the two boys were running after Rin and Haru, leaving her staring after them, stumped.

She just stood there with a blank look on her face for a while, before her expression was replaced by one of fury. She then proceeded to take her anger out on the nearest wall, which resulted in more than a few bruises for her. Once her rage had subsided, she took out the photo she had taken from the lounge and stared at it for a moment, calming down slightly at the sight. Huffing impatiently, she placed the photo back in her pocket and chased after the four boys, her short ponytail swaying with the movement.

She really should have sat this out like she did all those entrance ceremonies.

* * *

><p>AN: And shark boy finally appears! Gotta love Rin, even if he did come off as douchey in the beginning. 8'D<p>

We also get more insight on the group's history together this chapter, and a slight cliffie as well. I really can't believe how much my muse is pushing me to write this fic... I'll probably slow down as time goes by, but for now I hope ya'll enjoy the multiple updates! Once again, do leave a comment to tell me what you think so far! Want me to focus on a certain character during a particular scene to come? Want more insight on a particular person?Think my characterisations are okay? Just wanna say hi? Lemme hear from you guys! I won't bite!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"I'll show you how different we are now." Rin proclaimed as he stripped his shirt off, revealing his well-muscled upper torso.

"Sure," Haruka replied casually, though his calm voice had a determined undertone to it. He removed his shirt in a similar manner as Rin did, revealing his own fit body "Go ahead."

As luck would have it, Byakuya burst through the doors of the old pool just in time to witness the two boys whipping off their clothing.

"Oh dear gods, my virgin eyes." She groaned, rubbing her eyes furiously. Having grown up in the company of boys and attending swimming lessons since she could walk, Byakuya was rather passive about seeing half-naked men compared to most hormonal teenage girls her age. To be honest, she was actually sort of sick of seeing all these men and their sweaty, gross... well-toned, gorgeous bodies.

_'Ignoring that last part...'_

"They're gonna swim here?" Nagisa exclaimed in shock, Makoto gaping right along with him.

"Wait a second..." Byakuya said. "Isn't the pool..." her eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"Haru! Wait! That's a bad idea!" Makoto cried out in a panicky voice. He had probably noticed what she had as well. However, Haruka didn't pay them any heed and instead dropped his pants.

Byakuya froze before realizing- with a relieved sigh- that Haruka was wearing the exact same pair of swimming trunks he had that morning. Upon letting this new fact sink in, however, she blanched alongside Makoto and Nagisa.

"You were wearing that the whole day?" Makoto cried.

"Rin-chan too!" Nagisa added, turning all gazes to the redhead who was performing stretches, also clad in swimming trunks which reached down to his ankles.

"That's it." Byakuya grumbled to herself. "I never want to see the gorgeous, droolworthy planes of a man's body ever again."

"What was that, Bya-kun?"

"Nothing."

"Guys, focus! We need to stop them!" Makoto exclaimed intently.

"...Do we really?" Nagisa asked reluctantly.

_"Oi!"_ Makoto cried out, making Nagisa laugh sheepishly.

"Uh, guys," Byakuya called out, trying to talk the two boys out of it as they started to run up to the starting platform. "No, wait! I really think you two should-"

"Let's do this, Haru!" Rin growled aggresively as he snapped his goggles onto his eyes.

"Ready!" They both got into positions.

"WAIT!"

"Go-"

Before the two of them could make what would have been the most stupid mistake of their lives, they stopped just in time to notice that the huge pool was empty. There were even a few rats scurrying around the dry, filthy floor of the pool.

"T-there isn't any water..." Nagisa pointed out plainly.

"That's why I told you to stop..." Makoto sighed exasperatedly.

"Shoulda just let you two idiots jump in and hit the floor. Would've served you right." Byakuya commented, earning a reprimanding gaze from Makoto. Really, that boy was such a mother hen.

"Tch. Lame." Rin said as he stepped off the jumping platform and went to retrieve his clothes. Haruka moved rather slowly off the board, with a peculiar expression in his blue eyes... Frustration? Longing? Relief? Byakuya couldn't tell- she could never read Haru as well as Mako could.

"Oh yeah," Rin called out suddenly, snapping everyone's attention back to him. He tossed up a familiar item and caught it again in his hand. With a start, Byakuya recognized it as the trophy they had won from the relay; the one they buried all those years ago.

'He dug it up... without us?' She thought to herself, feeling a pang of hurt even though they themselves had been about to do the same thing. But they didn't know he was back! Couldn't he have contacted one of them? Why... what happened to him?

"Oh, our trophy!" Nagisa exclaimed in surprise.

"I don't need this thing anymore," Rin muttered, his voice arrogant his eyes cold. The initial hurt Byakuya felt only worsened as she heard those words fall from his lips. She couldn't see a trace of that happy, loving boy she had once known- standing before her now was a total stranger.

To further increase the shock they were all feeling, he carelessly let the trophy fall from his hands. The four teens all gasped in shock as their prized trophy clattered onto the floor- luckily, the glass didn't shatter. Despite his cruel actions, Rin just kept walking away; without so much as a glance back.

"Rin-chan..." Nagisa muttered quietly, his normally carefree voice laced with hurt and confusion. Why had he done that...?

Byakuya clenched her fists tightly. It took all of her self-restraint to not start hurling everything she could reach for at the maroon-eyed boy. She wasn't sure why Rin was being such an ass, but at that moment she didn't care. It was bad enough that he had hurt her feelings, but to hurt her friends like that as well... if_ Nagisa_, of all people, sounded like someone had ripped his heart out and thrown it back at his face, what were the others feeling?

"... he's kinda changed..." Nagisa continued.

'That's the understatement of the year, Nagisa. We don't even know who that is anymore.' Byakuya thinned her lips, but for once, she didn't say anything. She didn't want to inflict more damage on their already fragile states.

She gazed at Rin's retreating figure, trying to make the connection between the icy teen she was seeing now with that cheerful boy from the past.

She couldn't.

* * *

><p>After the rather depressing encounter, the four teens returned despondently to their seperate homes. Makoto and Byakuya ended up returning to the Tachibana household half an hour later than they had promised, and received a rather sound lecture courtesy of Mrs Tachibana. Mr Tachibana hadn't said anything; instead he had stood off to the side, shooting the two teens reprimanding yet sympathetic looks. It was obvious he had been on the receiving end of Kotetsu's berates before, and felt somewhat sorry for them.<p>

As they both trudged up the stairs with dampened moods, Byakuya was more than ready to just collapse on her bed. It had been a really draining day- both physically and emotionally. Just as a she was about to make the turn that would take her to the guest room, however, she felt Makoto's large hand land on her shoulder, successfully halting her steps.

"An explanation. You promised, remember?" Makoto reminded firmly.

Byakuya groaned and turned apathetically to face the green-eyed boy. "Can't this wait 'til tomorrow? I'm tireddd..."

When the boy's stern expression didn't falter, Byakuya knew she couldn't escape. She really should have known this was coming though; Makoto had a knack for getting people to spill, and he had been on her case ever since that evening. Grudgingly, Byakuya nodded and dragged her feet as she followed Makoto into his room, dreading what was coming. They sat down on his bed and the both of them leaned against the wall- it was the usual position they assumed whenever they had a deep discussion. And boy, did Byakuya know this was gonna be a long one.

She dug around in her jacket pockets until she brought out the photo she had taken from the lounge and handed it to Makoto, though she forced herself not to look Makoto in the eye. The boy reached out and took it, his eyes softening as he recognized what he was looking at.

There was a middle-aged woman in the picture, standing in a pool and wearing a swimsuit. She had long auburn hair which was pulled back, and familiar chocolate eyes that sparkled as she gazed smilingly into the camera. Next to her was a boy in his early teens, with grey eyes and short hair the same colour as the woman's. He had one hand loosely draped around the older woman's shoulders and the other wrapped around the waist of a little girl whom he was lifting halfway out of the water. The camera had caught the black-haired girl with her eyes closed as she half-shrieked and laughed with joy.

Makoto looked up from the picture and into Byakuya's eyes, the same warm brown as the woman's in the picture.

It was a photo of the Shion family, back when Mikasa Shion was still alive and healthy.

"That's why I was reluctant about going back," Byakuya began slowly as she retrieved the picture and put it back into her pocket. "I was... afraid. I didn't want to get caught up in all the memories of those happy times, of when my mother was still with us, teaching me and my brother how to swim and just having fun. I didn't want to remember all of that and have to be dragged back into the present, when all that's left of her are memories and a grave marker." She finished wistfully, looking down at her fidgeting thumbs.

"...There's more on your mind." Makoto stated matter-of-factly. Damn that boy, he knew how to read her like a book.

"I don't want to talk about it." Byakuya stated stubbornly.

"Byaku-chan..." the olive green-haired boy said quietly. The girl was such a puzzle, really; with how happy she seemed to be all the time, one would think she didn't have a care or concern in the world. But Mako knew better. He saw right through her masks- knew how much she kept bottled up inside.

And he was determined to get her to let it all out before she broke under the pressure.

"Please, Byakuya." He said imploringly, grasping her hand in his own and staring at her straight in the eye.

Byakuya's pulse quickened. She couldn't do this. She hated confronting her true feelings; it would make her a total wreck. She always convinced herself that she was happy, not once turning around to face the music. She didn't want to- wasn't strong enough to. But at Makoto's request and the way he looked at her so pleadingly...

"You'd never push Haru-kun into telling you these sort of things." She grumbled, a last attempt at steering away from the topic at hand.

"Haru is a different case altogether, and you know it. Why won't you just confide in me this time?" The boy inquired insistently. Eh, it had been worth a shot.

"I don't know if I can, Mako." She said quietly."

"Just give it a try- you'll never know until you do."

How she hated his puppy-dog eyes. His were the only ones that could made her waver. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her erratic heartbeat.

"...I was selfish." Byakuya started quietly. "When mom got sick, she still insisted on letting us go to the swim club; said that as our mom it was her duty to make sure we had fun even if she was ill. And... I complied without argument. I was so concerned about my own happiness, I tried to forget she was sick. I got out of the house as much as I could, and when I was at home I kept to myself. It was always so quiet and dank in that house after mom got diagnosed; even my brother was miserable. But at least he cared for mom. He looked after her, spent more time with her, took over her responsibilities... all I did was run away, up until the day she died. I still am, and I hate myself for it. But I just can't stop. Going back to the swim club... it just reopened all those wounds."

Here Byakuya stopped, her voice shaking. She drew her knees up to her chest, as if she could somehow physically restrain all the emotions that were threatening to burst out.

Makoto didn't say anything; he simply put his arms around the girl and held her close. He appreciated that Byakuya had trusted him enough to tell him what was really on her mind, even if it did take a little convincing. He was all too aware that her dam of emotions was about to overflow from finally dropping her mask, and he was going to be there for her.

When Byakuya felt Makoto's warm embrace, she finally broke. It was the second time in Mako's life that he had seen her cry since the day before Rin left. She bawled into the boy's chest; probably soaking his shirt, but he didn't comment on it or move away.

"It's alright," he murmured comfortingly, slowly running his fingers through her hair, which had come loose from it's usual ponytail at some point. "It's okay, you don't have to hold back. I'm here, don't worry."

"Dammit, Mako." Byakuya managed to choke out through her sobs. "I really don't deserve someone like you." And she truly felt she didn't. Makoto was a wonderful person and companion; he always gave and never expected anything in return. No matter how much she revealed about herself- how dark and ugly she truly was on the inside- He would always see the good in her and reassure her of it. Her grip tightened on the boy's shirt; she didn't know what she'd do without him.

The boy chuckled and just rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm the girl down. He was her pillar of support, just as he was with all of his friends- and he silently swore that he always would be.

It was at that moment that Makoto realized with a start just how much he cared for the girl that was before him now.

When Byakuya felt Makoto stiffen slightly under her, she paused and glanced up at him worriedly.

"Mako?" She asked in concern.

The boy blinked out of his stupor and looked down into the girl's brown eyes. He just smiled and reassured her.

"It's nothing. I just remembered I forgot to tell Nagisa something." He lied.

The girl laughed weakly. "Well, with everything that's happened with Rin and my pathetic breakdown, I'm surprised you even recall that now." She said as she straightened up, rubbing away her tears with her sleeve. Makoto reluctantly released her, cursing his stupid bodily reflexes for ruining the moment.

"Hey... uhm, Mako?" Byakuya asked hesitatingly after a beat of silence. The boy tilted his head inquisitively.

"What is it?"

"It's just...I was wondering if... could I sleep with you again?" She asked as she fidgeted, not quite realizing how suggestive the statement sounded. It was a request she had only asked Makoto for twice in her whole life- once when she was 8 and had a huge blowout with her brother, and again on the day of her mother's burial.

Makoto started and tried to suppress the rising colour in his cheeks at the words she used. He wasn't a saint; he was quite aware of the double meaning the words could have carried.

Though he knew she didn't mean it that way- she had made the request with the exact same words when they were younger- he was highly tempted to say no. But when he looked at the embarassed girl who was gazing down at the floor, unable to even meet his eyes as she asked the innocent question, he caved in.

"Alright." He complied, his face heating up slightly. Byakuya perked up at his compliance immediately.

"Thanks, Mako." She said gratefully as she settled herself onto the left side of the bed against the wall, lying on her side like she had the past two times she had shared his sleeping space.

Makoto swallowed hard as he lay down on his side of the bed, facing the girl as he did so. This was the first time he had ever felt so nervous when Byakuya had done this- probably because they were both older now and were not quite so childishly innocent. He was all too aware of her body so close to his own and the feel of her breath against his face, and he felt his pulse rate shoot up upon noticing these details.

Makoto silently cursed puberty and all the confusing emotions that came with it.

"Good night, Makoto." Byakuya wished, closing her eyes.

"Good night... Byakuya." Makoto replied as he turned around briefly to stretch out his arm and flick off the lights.

'This is gonna be a really crazy year.' Makoto thought to himself as he sighed and let sleep overtake him.

He didn't know just how right he was.

* * *

><p>AN: I know the whole "best-friends-becoming-lovers" thing is pretty clichéd, but I'm trying to break away from the norm a little with that trope. The development between Makoto and Byakuya won't be overly dramatic or anything, it will be slow and steady- two friends accepting that they like each other and testing the waters before jumping in. There will be no dramatic fallout, no jealous love triangles or anything of the sort, so if you were hoping for that, I'm sorry, but... 8'D<p>

The plot won't be too focused on the duo's romantic development either- though it will be a slightly more central point of the story- it will share the spotlight with the other relationships between the cast; I want to focus on the other characters as well. Also, we're keeping things T-rated here- this is probably as fluffy as it's gonna get. So yeah, I just needed to clear some things up. Also, shout out to the two peeps who have followed this story! NeutralEvilz and myrainbowsoul, thank you! I hope ya'll stick around for the continuation of this newbie's fic!

Do feel free to review or message me if you guys have anything to say or ask about the story; constructive criticism is most appreciated! See ya'll soon!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

Makoto stirred from his slumber as he heard the sound of childish giggling, grunting slightly in annoyance at being woken up. He yawned once as he tightened his hold on his pillow, trying to go back to sleep. Much to his impatience, the giggling only increased as he did so. Blearily opening his eyes, the Tachibana managed to make out the forms of his twin siblings standing at the foot of the bed, trying- and failing- to stifle their laughter with their hands.

"What are you two-" he croaked out, before his 'pillow' shifted slightly under his grasp. Makoto stiffened immediately and slowly turned his head towards the source of the movement, dreading what he'd see. Apparently, his arm had been wrapped around the sleeping form of Byakuya Shion, who was snoring rather ungracefully with her mouth wide open. Paired with her hair which looked like a rat's nest, she wasn't the most picturesque sight to behold first thing in the morning.

Makoto jerked awake immediately and he shot right out of bed, removing his hold around the girl's waist as he did so. He could feel his face heating up- had he been holding her like that all night? Byakuya simply snorted slightly at the movement before rolling over, her face in the pillow as she continued snoring.

Makoto was starting to question why he liked the girl in the first place.

"Mako-nii and Byaku-nee, sitting in a tree~" Ran sang as she grinned cheekily at her brother.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Ren finished, singing right along with his sister as they burst into laughter at the end.

"O-oi! Cut it out!" Makoto exclaimed, his face turning red.

"Mako-nii is embarassed!" Ran squealed loudly.

"His face looks like a tomato!" Ren added.

"Mako-nii likes Byaku-nee~! They teased in unison.

"You two littl-" Makoto started, leaning forward to chase the twins off, but was interrupted by a loud exclamation coming from the doorway of his room.

"MAKOTO TACHIBANA!" His mother shouted from the open door of his bedroom, her green eyes wide in what looked like shock and horror. Makoto gulped nervously- what had he gotten himself into now?

"Wha..?" Byakuya mumbled blearily, choosing that moment to raise her head from the pillow, blinking sleepily at the scene before her. "Whas gon on?" She managed to utter before the twins took it upon themselves to assault the semi-conscious girl, who groaned and let her head hit the pillow again.

"I AM SO-" Makoto cringed at his mother's loud voice. He waited to be berated for being caught with a girl in his bed, when suddenly...

"-SO PROUD OF YOU!" Kotetsu finished, eyes gleaming with happiness.

Makoto blanched.

"Wh-what?" He peeped out in surprise.

"Oh, Mikasa and I had dreamed about this day!" His mother cried out and threw her arms around his neck tightly, nearly suffocating the poor boy. "You two have finally paired up! It's taken forever! How did you manage to scrape together the courage to-"

"Mom, mom, wait!" Makoto interrupted quickly, cutting off his mom's delighted ramblings. "It's not what you think! Byaku-chan just fell asleep here last night, that's all!"

His mother's face fell. "Oh... Ahhhh, and to think I got my hopes up for nothing! When will my little boy finally get a girlfriend?" She complained.

"M-mom, please..." he tried to intervene, sweatdropping.

"I'm serious! What if something happens to me? What are you gonna do without a woman in your life?"

"Alright, alright, I'm up. What'd I miss?" Byakuya groaned out as she finally shook the twins off of her and stood up, stretching.

"Nothing!" Makoto replied quickly. "Anyway, we need to get ready for school, Byaku-chan, so up and at it!" He finished the sentence far too enthusiastically and literally shoved everyone out of his room, before slamming the door in their faces.

"...Did I miss something?" Byakuya asked confusedly as she looked away from the closed door and at the other Tachibanas that had been chased out of the room.

"Oh, nothing important!" Mrs Tachibana replied cheerily. "Just discussing future wedding plans with my son."

Makoto let out a yell from inside his room.

"Oh...kay?" Byakuya responded, sweatdropping. The woman's bright and cheerful mood was somewhat creepy, and Byakuya unconsciously started inching away slowly. "I'm gonna go change now..."

"You go do that~" Mrs Tachibana replied before she spun around, practically prancing down the hallway.

Byakuya blinked once in confusion before she looked over at the twins, who were giggling and whispering to each other. "I don't suppose you two know why your mom looks like she's just won the lottery?"

The twins simply glanced at each other before looking up at her with knowing grins.

"That's for us to know..." Ren started.

"And for you to find out!" Ran finished as they both burst into laughter and ran after their mother.

The black-haired girl just stared in the direction they had gone, before shrugging and heading towards the guest room. It was way too early to think too hard on this.

* * *

><p>Haruka Nanase opened his ocean-blue eyes as he awoke from the nap he was taking, taking a moment to regain his bearings. He gazed up at the clear sky from his spot on the grassy field, wondering for a moment if the events he'd just witnessed in his mind's eye was simply a trick of his imagination...<p>

"... A dream?" He asked no one in particular.

"It wasn't a dream!" Makoto cried in exasperation. It was recess now, and the four of them had been sitting in a grassy area behind the school building as they ate their lunches.

"I don't get it though; Rin-chan was really weird..." Nagisa pondered out loud, crossing his arms and taking a thoughtful look upon his face.

"Look-alike." Haruka replied simply. Byakuya choked on her water and Nagisa had to pat her back to help her cough it up.

"Why would a look-alike challenge you to a race?" Makoto deadpanned.

"A ghost, then." Haruka shrugged, rolling over onto his side and facing away from his friends as he closed his eyes. He really didn't want to talk about Rin right now... not ever, really. The situation with their former friend was something he felt they couldn't handle. Only he knew some semblance of truth behind Rin's behaviour, and he needed to deal with it alone.

"He wasn't floating." Nagisa pointed out.

"Doppelganger." Haruka responded.

"Oh, that takes me back!" Makoto mused as he recalled something.

"You mean that weird posing thing we picked up all those years ago?" Byakuya asked.

"It wasn't weird! We used to do it all the time at the swim club!" Makoto declared as he crossed his arms in a peculiar way and assumed a pose. Nagisa yawned while Byakuya's face fell into her hands. "Super Fusion: Doppelg-"

"Keep it down, Makoto." Haruka muttered despondently as he slowly sat back up again.

"Yeah, no matter what you say, it's still weird." Byakuya commented.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Makoto cried out as he stood up, exasperated at all the negative feedback he was receiving.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Nagisa added.

"Hey!" Makoto exclaimed, annoyed.

As the four of them bantered, they failed to notice a familiar redheaded girl watching them from afar. The girl's expression was thoughtful as she stared at the four teens, unsure of what to think.

"Do you know those guys?" The girl's light-haired companion asked as she walked up to her.

The redhead nodded in response, her long ponytail bobbing with the movement. "Yep. Haruka Nanase. Makoto Tachibana. Nagisa Hazuki. Byakuya Shion." She said, gesturing to each of the respsctive individuals. "What they all have in common is that they all used to belong to the same swimming club. And they all have names normally reserved for the opposite gender."

"What's your relationship with them?" Her green-eyed friend whispered as she leaned in closer to the girl's ear.

"That's a secret." The maroon-eyed girl responded, placing a finger upon her lips in a gesture of silence.

"So, you've got something in common with them too." Her friend commented. "Since you're a girl with a boyish name."

A vein popped on the addressed girl's forehead.

"Seriously... STOP CALLING ME GOU!" She shouted, making her companion jump back in surprise. Talk about sensitive...

* * *

><p>"You see, sir, we'd assumed that since the building was abandoned, it wasn't-"<p>

"Come on!" Mr Hasegawa cut Byakuya off angrily in the middle of her explanation. "It may be abandoned, but it's still considered trespassing if you go in without permission; understand?"

"...Fine. Sorry." Byakuya growled out. "Grouchy old coot." She muttered under her breath, earning a sharp step on her foot from Nagisa.

The two of them along with Makoto were currently standing in front of Mr Hasegawa's desk in the faculty office as he berated them for their "illegal venture" last night. How the teacher had found out about it; they had no idea.

"I apologize." Makoto said meekly.

"We're sorry." Nagisa added, bowing his head in shame, directing the apology at the teacher and not the girl who was swearing under her breath at having her foot stomped on.

The teacher let out a long exhale, seemingly appeased by their mostly- Shion had seemed a little reluctant- sincere apologies. "Where's Nanase?" He asked, only just noticing the boy's absence.

"He left early this afternoon." Makoto explained.

"Again?" Mr Hasegawa sighed.

"Now, now, I think that's enough." Miss Amakata cut in, suddenly walking up to the table.

"Remember what Li Bai once said, 'In human life, accomplishment must bring total joy,'" she quoted sagely. "'Do not allow an empty goblet to face the moon.'"

Everyone, including Mr Hasegawa, deadpanned.

"'You only have one life, so you should do what you want,'" The young teacher continued, utterly oblivious to the response- or lack thereof- of her audience. "'It would be foolish not to drink from the glass placed before you!' Right?" She finished with a cute pose.

"...was that supposed to mean something? Cuz I'm not getting it." Byakuya whispered to her two friends. She appreciated the teacher's intervention, but she was totally lost when Miss Amakata started quoting that Ai dude or whoever it was. Nagisa just shot her an exasperated look that made her feel like an idiot.

"Huh?" Miss Amakata exclaimed as she realized that her audience had not understood a single thing she'd said.

"Probably not." Byakuya muttered.

* * *

><p>"Rin Matsuoka... Rin Matsuoka..." Nagisa muttered to himself as he and his two buddies looked at the individual name plates of the lockers in the locker room. "Does he really go to our school?" He asked quizically.<p>

"If he's back from Australia, he might have transferred over here." Makoto replied, walking slowly along his row as he read each name, searching for Rin's.

"But wouldn't we have seen him by now, if that was so?" Byakuya called over her shoulder as she glanced back at her companions.

"Yeah, I didn't see him at the opening ceremony..." Nagisa muttered.

Suddenly, Makoto inhaled sharply. "Found him!" He exclaimed victoriously.

Nagisa ran to Makoto's locker row faster than a jack rabbit in heat.

"For real?"

"No, wait," Makoto continued, his tone losing its initial excitement. "Matsuoka... Gou?"

"That sounds familiar..." Makoto mused out loud before he gasped in realization.

"I remember now! That girl on the roof yesterday... that was Rin's younger sister!"

* * *

><p>Gou Matsuoka- or rather, 'Kou', as she preferred to be called- rang the doorbell of Haruka Nanase's house, fidgeting with the strap of her school bag as she did so. She had been meaning to talk to the boy who had been one of her brother's closest friends ever since she'd seen him on the roof that day- she had even gone through the trouble of acquiring the Nanase's address. She had so many questions to ask him, and when there was no response from the resident of the house she sighed in defeat. Looked like her questions were going to have to wait...<p>

As she gazed despondently at the ground, Kou didn't notice the figure standing right behind her as she spun around and collided with said figure, who let out a slight "oof!"

"Ah!" Kou exclaimed as she looked up at the person she'd hit. With a start, she recognized the broad-shouldered form of Byakuya Shion, who rubbed at her shoulder where Kou had knocked into her. The older girl was standing with Nagisa Hazuki and Makoto Tachibana, both of whom wore light expressions on their faces.

"S-sorry about that!" Kou apologized profusely to the girl, who simply brushed it off.

"It's okay," the girl shrugged in reassurance. "I was standing pretty close anyway."

"Anyways, Gou Matsuoka, right?" Makoto cut in, smiling. The addressed girl tried not to twitch at the mispronunciation of her name, but before she could correct him, Makoto continued. "I know this is sudden, but would you mind coming out for a walk with us?"

* * *

><p>"Ehh, so you chose Iwatobi High too, huh, Gou-chan?" Nagisa asked as he sat down on the sealed-off well next to the girl. The four teens had walked up to a rotunda on a nearby hill that offered a beautiful view of ocean, which was currently bathed in the rays of the mid-afternoon sun.<p>

"Don't call me Gou!" The girl huffed. "Everyone calls me Kou!"

"Eh why?" Nagisa asked. "Isn't your name Gou, like the third daughter of the Sengoku warlord, Nagamasa Azai?" He recalled. The boy always did have a knack for History, and he honestly wondered why the girl would want to correct her rather-in his opinion, at least- awesome name.

"That's true..." Gou responded quietly. "But Kou is the typical reading, so call me that!" She added quickly. "That would be the nice thing to do."

Byakuya snorted as the two underclassmen had a glaring contest. Really, girls could be so sensitive about the most trivial things... she herself had a masculine name, but unlike Kou she actually liked it.

"Uh... putting that stuff aside..." Makoto interjected in an attempt to calm the two down.

It backfired.

"'That stuff'?" Kou demanded, a fierce expression on her face as she spun around to face Makoto, who jumped.

"Eheh, sorry..." Makoto apologized. "But I meant to ask... what were you doing at Haru's place?"

"Oh! Well..." Kou hesitated, scratching her cheek and feeling somewhat flustered at the question. She considered lying for a moment, but since she couldn't think up a good fib, she went with the truth. "I wanted to ask him about my brother."

"So, Rin's really back from Australia, then?" Makoto asked.

"He returned last month, and is attending Samezuka Academy now." Kou explained, her voice laced with a hint of sadness. "It's a boarding school, so he hasn't come home yet."

"Samezuka?" Makoto exclaimed in awe. "The swimming powerhouse?"

"Yep. That's the one." Kou confirmed.

"Wow... to think Rin-chan's gotten into such an amazing school... I wonder how much better his swimming's gotten?" Nagisa pondered out loud.

"It doesn't quite add up, though." Byakuya commented, speaking up for the first time since they had arrived at the hill. "Samezuka's great and all, but why leave Australia? Why return here?"

That made them all fall silent- even Nagisa frowned at the whole situation. Rin was back, but no one knew what for. He'd changed a lot as well, and Nagisa was determined to find out why. Even though Rin had hurt his feelings pretty badly yesterday, Nagisa was positive that the boy must have had his reasons. He knew that the old Rin was still in there somewhere; he just needed to bring him back somehow. The blonde boy pumped his fist determinedly, expression set.

"That's that, then!" He exclaimed. "We're gonna go to Samezuka Academy! And we're gonna find Rin-chan and get him to explain everything!"

* * *

><p>"No." Haruka deadpanned. The three of his friends had broken into his house through the back door again and forced him out of his tub, so needless to say- he was pretty miffed.<p>

"Aww cmon Haru-chan! Let's go to Samezuka Academy!" Nagisa begged.

"Don't you want to see Rin?" Makoto added.

"After how rude he was, I'm surprised you guys even want to see him at all without even the slightest notion of punching him in th- OW!" Byakuya exclaimed as she earned a jab in the ribs from both Nagisa and Makoto.

"We saw him yesterday. " Haruka responded noncomittedly as he dried his hair with a towel.

Makoto sighed. "And here I was thinking you'd finally gonna get to swim if you came along."

Haruka paused at this. Byakuya hid her smirk with a hand as she realized the card Makoto was pulling.

"Samezuka is supposed to have a large indoor pool." That did it.

Byakuya burst into laughter when Haru had looked up with shining eyes, obviously falling for the trap Makoto had laid out.

That boy really was a sly little monkey.

* * *

><p>AN: And we finally have a name to the elusive, feisty redheaded female of the series! Ah Kou, you lucky girl, getting to be surrounded by all those gorgeous men.<p>

Not sure if you guys noticed, but Makoto is the only guy Byakuya addresses without any suffix. If you didn't know, normally only close friends do that with each other, which depicts how comfortable Byakuya is with Makoto compared to the other guys. Not a surprise really- it's impossible not to grow attached to that adorable gorilla. (I can't believe I just compared Mako to a simian. Twice.)

A shout out to gr8ydolphin for following this story and NotSauron for the review! I'm glad you guys found the story somewhat worthy of such attention, I pray I don't disappoint xD

To answer you, NotSauron (Love your name xD) I really appreciate your input and I'll do my best to follow your advice (it WAS a helpful review by the way!) To be honest, I was actually thinking about Kuchiki when I named Byakuya, haha! And I'm glad the OC, pacing and characterization is okay for you, I was pretty worried about those. I'm planning to add more original moments later on, but I'm hoping not to change or influence the original storyline too much because I don't want to make the progression such that the character growths and plotline seem to be because of Byakuya, and I also plan to give her her own maturation as well. She will be swimming later on too, but she won't be doing so in a major way. And don't worry, I have no intention whatsoever of making her a perfect swimmer or anything; at the most she would have been pretty good back as a kid, but naturally her capabilites will have decreased due to lack of training. And I definitely agree with what you said about the individual development of strength in girls and boys- guys naturally gain muscle faster (and Haru's a total prodigy to boot, so there's no way Byakuya could match up to that). Again, thanks so much for the review! I hope I'll be able to live upto your expectations!

Thanks for reading this chapter you guys, feel free to leave a comment! See ya next water time!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

The four teens were riding the train to the station nearest to Samezuka Academy. They had all agreed to go to Samezuka that evening after their own school hours had ended, determined to confront Rin.

Nagisa had fallen asleep before they were even halfway through the journey and his head was lolling on Haruka's shoulder. Makoto wasn't much better; he was already starting to nod off and was leaning heavily on Byakuya, who was seated in between him and Nagisa. Thanks to her broad frame, Byakuya was able to handle the weight of the larger boy on her. She stifled her laughter with her hand at Haruka's discomforted expression; even after all these years the boy was still not used to physical contact.

The boy gave her an exasperated look and proceeded to gaze out the window , a thousand thoughts running through his head. They were going to see Rin again, and he didn't know what they were going to do when they did. Nagisa had made it seem so simple; find Rin and ask him why he acted the way he did yesterday, but Haruka knew it wasn't so easy. Rin's attitude wasn't a fleeting, temporary thing, it went much deeper than that; even Haru himself wasn't sure of the whole story behind it. He highly doubted Rin was going to bare his soul to them if they just asked like that. And then there was the matter of the race Rin had challenged him to... just what was he to do?

"Y'know," Byakuya suddenly said quietly, snapping the boy out of his train of thought. "It wouldn't hurt for you to tell us what's on your mind sometimes. I know I'm hardly one to talk but... We're your friends; we're here for you. You know that, don't you Haru-kun?" She asked, brown eyes gazing piercingly into his azure ones.

Haruka was silent. To be honest, he was quite surprised that out of everyone, Byakuya would be the one to broach the topic- most of the time she hated talking about things like feelings and serious matters. But as for her question...He _did_ know that his friends cared for him greatly; and he acknowledged it in that quiet manner of his. Granted, he did have things he wanted to say sometimes, but he just didn't know how to say it or found it unnecessary. And there were some subjects that he needed to face alone; things he couldn't bring his friends into. In his own way, he was just trying to protect them. What he didn't realize however was that his silence tended to put up walls that pushed people away, leaving himself alone in his fort of solitude.

Brown eyes watched the raven-haired boy as he returned his gaze to the window. She felt frustration bubble inside of her; just what was he thinking? She guessed that her words had some sort of impact on the boy, but she couldn't tell if it was in a good or bad sense. She didn't know why she had attempted to coax the boy into talking about it- it had been a spur of the moment thing- and she was starting to feel awkward. It was like the silent teen hadn't even budged.

She really wished she had Makoto's persuasion skills now.

She sighed and laid her head against Mako's, letting her eyes shut. She figured she might as well get some rest before the big confrontation with Rin instead of pursuing a topic that seemed to be going nowhere.

Just before she drifted to sleep, she heard Haru mutter something. She wasn't sure, but she could've sworn it was a soft "I'm sorry."

* * *

><p>"Hey, you're slowing down, Nakagawa! Move!"<p>

The four friends ducked their heads immediately as they heard the voice ring through the walls of Samezuka Academy. They had arrived at the school in the middle of the evening, and they were currently sneaking around outside, passing the indoor pool as they did so. After the voice died away, they risked a peek through the glass.

"Do you see Rin-chan anywhere?" Nagisa asked as he peered through the glass. He had to stand on his tiptoes and just to be able to see through the window.

"Can't find him. Maybe he's out today." Makoto replied. The boy was so tall he didn't struggle at all to reach the glass like his friend did as he gazed at what he could see of the indoor pool.

"Hey, Haru-" Makoto started, but was suddenly cut off by a small shriek from Byakuya. Both he and Nagisa turned around and blanched as they beheld Haruka unbuttoning his shirt.

Makoto lunged forth and grabbed Haruka's hands before he could remove his pants as well. "Don't take off your clothes here!" He cried.

"You were the one who brought me here to swim!" Haruka retorted accusingly, emitting more emotion in that moment than he had the whole day- all because something now stood between him and his precious pool. Makoto couldn't argue with that statement.

"I'm friends with a stripper. A reckless, hydrophilic, extremely attractive stripper." Byakuya grumbled to no one in particular.

"What was that, Byaku-chan?"

"Nothing."

"Wait, Haru-chan!" Nagisa interjected placatingly, being the voice of reason this time. "Let's just wait until practice is over and everyone's gone. Okay?"

"It's still considered trespassing. " Makoto muttered miserably. Byakuya winced at the thought of getting another lecture from Mr Hasegawa- that old fart could really nag.

"It'll be fine!" Nagisa argued. "The teacher earlier said that we should do what we want with our li-" The blonde was cut off by yet another shriek from Byakuya.

Turned out Haruka had decided to continue stripping down to his swimming trunks anyway.

"Can't you wait?" Makoto shouted exasperatedly.

Nagisa and Byakuya simply sighed.

* * *

><p>It was late evening before the group managed to sneak into the huge indoor pool. People weren't exaggerating when they said Samezuka had one of the best swimming clubs in Japan; the condition of their training grounds was enough testament to the school's reputation.<p>

"It's amazing.." Byakuya murmured in awe, turning her head around as she took in the sight of the impressive structure.

"I still think this is a bad idea..." Makoto said worriedly.

Haruka however held no such concerns and immediately stripped off and jumped into the pool.

"Wait!" Makoto cried out too late as Haruka splashed into the water. "Oh come on..."

The raven-haired boy ignored his friend's exclamations and just started swimming, arms moving in strong, graceful strokes as his legs kicked and propelled him forward. He looked so peaceful and carefree in the water... it was like he was born to swim.

"Even after all these years, Haru-chan still reminds me of a dolphin." Nagisa commented as he gazed on wistfully.

"Mako-chan! Bya-kun! Let's go swim with him!" The blonde suddenly suggested enthusiastically.

"Hell no!" Makoto exclaimed. "We'll get in trouble if someone finds us!"

"Mako, I'm sorry, but... please don't tell Kotetsu-obasan about this." Byakuya pleaded, before stripping out of her uniform- Makoto's face turned red as she did so- and revealing the black one-piece swimsuit she wore underneath.

"Not you too, Byaku-chan!" Makoto cried, horrified. The girl shot him an apologetic glance before shooting off and diving into the water after Haruka.

"... we still need to search for Rin." Makoto sighed exasperatedly.

"We can take a little dip first." Nagisa replied nonchalantly as he himself started taking off his clothes. "No one will find us if we don't turn on the lights."

"But you didn't bring a swimsuit!"

"A little skinny dip then." Nagisa explained plainly. Makoto's jaw dropped as Nagisa simply removed his entire uniform- the boy wasn't wearing anything underneath.

"WHAT?"

"Ah, I can swim~" Nagisa cheered as he ran towards the pool.

"Wai-"

But Makoto was- once again- ignored. Nagisa let out a shout of joy as he jumped into the pool. Byakuya shrieked as the naked boy landed near her position. "What the hell, Nagi-kun?"

Makoto facepalmed. This wasn't happening...

"Mako-chan, come over here a second." Nagisa called out.

"What now?" Makoto sighed as he walked towards the boy who had called out.

"I'm not gonna j-" Before he could finish his sentence, Nagisa grabbed and pulled at his ankle, making the sandy-haired boy lose his balance. "Y-you gotta be kidding me!" He cried out as he fell into the water against his own will.

Byakuya burst into laughter until she saw Makoto rise from the water. With his drenched hair obscuring his face darkly and his large stature, he looked pretty damn intimidating. Byakuya stopped laughing immediately and sweatdropped.

She also couldn't help but notice the way his wet shirt clung to his torso, accentuating his muscular arms and toned chest. Sexy.

'IGNORING THAT THOUGHT...' She thought forcefully, smothering the blush that threatened to rise.

"Hahaha! You looked like an elephant falling in!" Nagisa laughed. Apparently he had no qualms about offending the scary-looking Makoto.

Makoto growled and forcefully yanked off his shirt. Byakuya backed away slowly- this time, she couldn't restrain the blush again as it came at full force.

"Seriously..." Makoto hissed and stalked towards the younger boy. "Nagisa..."

The blonde just grinned as he swam out of the tall boy's reach and splashed water at him. "Take that!"

"Hey!" Makoto cried as he raised his arms to block the water from splashing his face. He slowly broke into a grin and splashed Nagisa right back, the water hitting Byakuya as well. "There!"

"Why you-" Byakuya smiled as she partook in the water fight. Soon the three of them were laughing gaily as they flung water at each other. Haruka just floated peacefully in the water with his eyes shut. He could have stayed that way forever...

Suddenly, the door to the pool clicked open, disrupting the moment. A familiar figure clad in a white uniform stalked up to the edge of the pool.

"What are you guys doing here?" Rin demanded.

"Rin!" Makoto exclaimed in surprise.

"We came here to see you!" Nagisa explained.

"Get out!" Rin shouted back.

"Rin-chan..." Nagisa said as he gazed sadly at the redhead. He just didn't understand- why wasn't he as happy to see them as they were to see him? He was starting to regret coming here... but he still wanted to understand why Rin was acting the way he was.

Byakuya's temper flared as she gritted her teeth and scowled at Rin- the way Nagisa looked so miserable broke her heart . "You fuckin j-"

Before she could finish her insult, Haru swam in front of them, coming between the trio and Rin.

"...Free." Haruka muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Rin's eyes narrowed at the boy.

"Did you forget? I told you that I only swim freestyle." Haru replied firmly.

"Haru-chan?"

"Haru..."

Byakuya just watched on wordlessly.

Haruka lifted himself out of the water and stood in front of Rin. '_About three years until I'm ordinary_.' He thought to himself, recalling what he had been thinking about that day while soaking in the bathtub. _'I guess it couldn't wait hurt to wait a little longer_.'

The teen shook his head from side to side, flipping all the loose water droplets off his hair. He had a determined look on his face and even wore a small smirk.

"I want you to show me that sight again. I forgot what it was I saw." He challenged.

Rin looked surprised for a moment, before a cold grin broke out across his face. "Yeah. I can do that."

Nagisa shuddered slightly at the sight of Rin's expression- it looked so out of place on the face of the boy he once knew. Rin really had changed; this just proved it.

"But it won't be the same this time." Rin continued, staring Haruka dead in the eye with an almost malicious gleam in his own. "This time...I'll be showing you something completely different!"

* * *

><p>"As always, I can't make any sense of you." Rin commented none too idly as he placed his goggles over his head. The boy had changed into his swimsuit and was getting ready to race Haruka- this time in a pool that was actually filled.<p>

The other three outsiders had- rather grudgingly- gotten out of the pool to make way for the two racers. They had partially dressed back in their uniforms and were standing by the sidelines as they watched the two boys get their swimming gear ready.

"Whatever." Haruka replied blandly. After Rin had accepted his challenge, he had reverted back to his nonchalant self. The boy really had a knack for retaining his composure. "You'd better get ready, Rin."

The scarlet-haired boy closed his eyes and smirked. "And you're as icy as ever." He commented as he recalled their younger days. Even as a kid, Haruka had been quiet and stand-offish. Back then, Rin was rather indulgent with the boy's attitude and seemed to accept it, but the words that came out of his mouth next...

"Yeah. That really pisses me off."

...utterly contradicted such notions now.

"Makoto." Haruka called, gaining his best friend's attention. "Give us the start signal."

Makoto seemed somewhat reluctant, but didn't deny Haru his request. "Okay." He wasn't sure exactly what was going on that made the two teens want to race so badly, but he trusted Haruka's judgement.

"We'll race 100 meters," Rin announced as he and Haru stepped onto their respective jumping platform. "Freestyle."

Makoto took a deep breath as the two boys got into starting positions, waiting for his signal.

"Ready,"

The racers' muscles coiled...

"Go!"

And they shot off, diving into the water nearly flawlessly.

"Amazing!" Nagisa exclaimed. "Rin-chan has a strong kick!"

"However..." Makoto contradicted. "Haru's stroke is faster."

"It could be anyone's game." Byakuya commented.

As the two boys swam at top speed towards the opposite end of the pool, Byakuya didn't know who to watch. Were it anyone else, she wouldn't have been able to pry her eyes from Haru's graceful yet powerful swimming form. However, Rin's more rugged, aggressive movements demanded just as much attention from any onlooker. Despite the suspense of the situation, Byakuya couldn't help but feel a horrible sense of foreboding and unconsciously clutched Makoto's arm.

Somehow, this wasn't going to end well.

* * *

><p>AN: And that marks the end of the story up until episode 1! *cries because the thought of 7 chapters per episode sob*<br>Anyhoo, pretty short chapter, I know, but I couldn't fit in much original content and insight here besides the interaction between Haru and Byakuya. I'm also gonna try to input more Nagisa moments in the fic, since I haven't done much of that up to this point. I'm sorry for not doing so earlier, but I seem to be more in-tune with Haruka's POV than the rest of the cast (Main character and all) so I guess I kinda gave him most of the spotlight 8'D

Many thanks to arachnidsgabfest for adding this story to your favourites and alerts! I'm happy that you found this fic worthy of a fav, I hope I can keep your interest in this fic up!

So yeah, that's it for this AN. Please leave a review to tell me what ya'll think about the fic so far! See ya next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

Rin Matsuoka sat in the darkness of his dorm, illuminated slightly by the light of his cell phone. It was nearly half-past two in the morning, but he was still wide awake. He was currently staring at an e-mail he had received from his sister, Gou, re-reading the message over and over again. In a sudden fit of rage, he threw the phone across the bed, the item bouncing on the mattress a couple of times.

"Dammit!" He cursed angrily, gritting his teeth in frustration. He didn't care that his roommate had stirred slightly in his slumber- Nitori would just have to deal with it. Though the message he had received was fairly simple and meant in good faith, but it had only served to irk him.

**"Did you manage to see Nanase-san and the other guys?"**

The maroon-eyed boy clutched at his head in agony and frustration as he recalled the events earlier that day. The race with Haruka...

_'Does this mean... I can't ever beat him?'_

Rin didn't get any sleep that night, though it wasn't anything new. He hardly ever did anymore.

* * *

><p>"IDIOTS!" Mr Hasegawa's outraged voice rang throughout the faculty office. "Do you even feel bad about what you've done?" The teacher was currently confronting the four students who had trespassed into Samezuka Academy yesterday- the same four that broke into the abandoned swim club earlier that week. This time, Haruka didn't get to weasel out of the lecture.<p>

"Sorry.." Makoto apologized quietly. It was the second time he'd been shouted at by a teacher this week- his mom was going to blow her top when she found out.

"First, you trespass into an abandoned building, and now you trespass into another school's pool?" Mr Hasegawa continued.

"Thank you for summarizing it for us." Byakuya muttered sarcastically. Nagisa stomped on her foot- deja vu much?

"Honestly..." the discipline teacher said, putting a hand on his face. "We're just lucky they agreed not to make a big deal out of this."

"Now, now. I think that's enough." The familiar voice of Miss Amakata interjected once again. Byakuya was starting to like the teacher, even if she didn't understand what the hell her weird proverbs meant.

"There's a famous saying that can be applied to this situation." Placing her hand over her chest in a dramatic gesture, the young woman continued. "In Ancient China during the era of the Shang Dynasty, Duke Tai of Chi would fish without any bait-"

"I hate fish." Mr Hasegawa cut in with a deadpan expression. Haruka frowned. Who on earth could dislike fish?

"...Excuse me." Miss Amakata apologized meekly while bowing.

Byakuya snorted. This time Nagisa nearly crushed her foot.

Damn, that boy had strong legs.

* * *

><p>"Miss Ama-chan wasn't much help..." Nagisa muttered as the group walked through the halls of the school. They had left the faculty office after Mr Hasegawa had deducted points from them for their actions yesterday.<p>

"I wonder how that fish saying goes..." Makoto mused thoughtfully.

"Why? It's not like we would've understood it anyway..." Byakuya responded.

"Maybe you wouldn't have, Bya-kun. You suck at Literature."

"I resent that."

"Anyways, Haru, do you kn-" but Makoto cut himself off when he realized with a start that Haru wasn't standing with them.

"Haru-chan's over there!" Nagisa pointed out, gesturing to the boy who was silently walking in the other direction, already out of the school's doors.

"When did that happen?" Makoto sighed.

"Ah," Nagisa suddenly called out. "Gou-chan!" He greeted the redheaded girl enthusiastically as she made her way towards them.

"I told you to call me Kou!" She replied exasperatedly.

"Does it really matter?" Nagisa asked rhetorically.

"Yes it does! I'm Kou!"

"Gou."

"Kou!"

"Gou."

"Kou!"

"Kou."

"Gou!"

"...Damn you!" The girl cried as she realized what she'd just been tricked into saying, grabbed her head in frustration.

Byakuya snickered while Nagisa- the cheeky little fox- grinned and made the peace sign at Kou. He always got his way.

* * *

><p>"So... were you able to see my brother?" Kou asked hesitantly as the four of them stood in a stairwell of the school building, having chosen this quiet space to converse.<p>

"Yeah, about that.. Rin-chan's so mean!" Nagisa exclaimed.

Byakuya snorted. She would've used a much harsher word than "mean"... Nagisa really was too optimistic and innocent for his own good. Even after Rin had hurt his feelings so badly, he still saw the boy in a good light. Byakuya on the other hand was more than ready to blacklist the guy.

"We hadn't seen each other in four years, and the first thing he does is challenge Haru-chan to a race!" The blonde continued. "He completely ignored me and Mako-chan and Bya-kun. We didn't get a chance to talk about anything!"

"Have you heard anything from your brother, Kou-chan?" Makoto inquired.

The girl shook her head sadly. "I tried e-mailing him and calling his cell with no luck. I even called his dorm room number and got no response."

"What kind of brother just ignores his younger sibling like that?" Byakuya exclaimed, her anger towards Rin escalating further. She herself had her loving older brother to lean on- she didn't know what she'd do if Aoi shut her out her like Rin was doing now. Makoto just placed a placating hand on her arm at her outburst, calming her down slightly.

Kou started slightly at the anger in the older girl's voice. She'd never heard Byakuya use that tone in years- not since the girl had beaten up Jinta Miyazaki in grade school for bullying Kou when she was younger.

"...How come Rin-chan's changed so much?" Nagisa asked quietly. "Did something happen in Australia?"

"I don't know either." Kou replied, her expression downcast. "I was hoping he would have opened up after meeting you guys."

Byakuya clenched her eyes shut as the words Rin had uttered all those years ago rang in her head. _"You'll always be my best buddies."_ He'd said, his eyes shining with love for his friends. Where was that boy now?

"Ah!" Makoto suddenly exclaimed as something on his mind clicked into place. "Are you the one responsible for Rin showing up at the swim club?"

"I-I wouldn't say I was the one responsible..." Kou responded sheepishly as she recalled that day on the roof. "I was just trying to help out. I happened to overhear your conversation, so I sent him a message. He never replied though..."

"In other words, you were spying on us?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow- it was more of a statement than a question.

"Ehe..."

"Anyway, was that why you were at Haru's yesterday, then?" Makoto asked.

"Uh huh. I was hoping he would have some answers."

"Hey!" Nagisa suddenly cried out, running between the teens. "I have a great idea! Let's start a swim club! That way we can see Rin-chan at tournaments!" He said, pink eyes shining with excitement.

"Um, I'm not sure Haru will be on board with that idea..." Makoto said, once again thinking of his friend first instead of himself.

"Well, we won't know until we ask, right? Besides, I'm sure Haru-chan will be fine with it!" Nagisa insisted.

"I'm with Makoto on this one," Byakuya added. "Haru-kun's probably not gonna go along with us this time..."

* * *

><p>"Whatever. Knock yourselves out." Haruka permitted nonchalantly.<p>

'Well so much for not going along.' Byakuya deadpanned.

"Huh? Really?" Nagisa seemed just as surprised as she was despite how sure he had been about Haru's compliance before. The group of them- minus Kou- stood inside Haruka's bathroom as the boy sat in the bathtub with his swimsuit on, as usual.

"Yay! We're good to go then! I'm so excited!" Nagisa blabbered on, oblivious to Haruka's expression as the blue-eyed boy turned away got lost in thought. Makoto and Byakuya just exchanged a worried glance- something was obviously on Haru's mind, and for once Makoto wasn't quite sure what it was.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this?" Makoto asked as they all sat in the dining room of Haru's house. "We're not gonna be doing this alone; you're expected to join."<p>

"I know." Haruka replied evenly as he dried himself off with a towel, still clad in nothing but his swimming trunks. Everyone seemed casual about it except Kou, who covered her eyes and looked like she was about to faint at any second.

'_No, don't look! Girls my age shouldn't ogle naked men! Must...not...look...' _She thought to herself fiercely.

"If you were just thinking that girls shouldn't be ogling naked men," Byakuya said to the younger girl- _'Crap! How did she know?'_ " I'd like to inform you that I've been exposed to this boy's naked upper torso since I was 8. So it's not all that big a deal."

Though the senior's words hadn't done much to alleviate the embarassment she was feeling- if anything, they had made it worse- Kou turned around slowly and opened her fingers slightly to allow her to get a glimpse of the half-naked boy.

She swooned.

_'What...incredible... triceps!'_ The girl squealed internally, blushing furiously at the sight. You could practically see the metaphorical sparkles she was emitting as she was blown away by the majesty of Haruka's fit figure.

Byakuya had to lean on Nagisa for support as she burst into laughter. The other boys just sweatdropped at the two girls' behaviour. Women were so weird.

That reminded Haruka. Who was this girl again?

"...oh yeah. Haru-chan wasn't with us that day." Nagisa remembered. "This is Rin-chan's sister."

"H-hello," the scarlet-haired girl greeted nervously. "It's been a long time."

"Matsuoka... Kou, right?" Haruka asked in confirmation.

The girl was delighted at having someone remember her name- at least, in the way she wanted them to. "Yes!" She said happily, with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Byakuya smirked to herself. Looked like Kou wasn't immune to Haru's subtle charm either._ 'Good luck with that, girl. I was barking up that tree for 3 years.'_She thought as she surpressed another snort.

"Um, I'd like to apologize about my brother's behaviour yesterday."

"Don't sweat it." Haru replied simply as he put on his light blue hoodie. He then proceeded to tie his apron on as he walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, if you're making tea, I have some squid to go with that." Makoto commented.

"Huh? Wouldn't chocolate be better?" Nagisa asked, confused.

"Trust me Nagi-kun. Don't bother arguing." Byakuya deadpanned. She and Makoto had gotten used to Haru's peculiar tastes and need to have seafood with practically everything.

As if to prove her point, Haruka stated, "We'll compromise and have mackerel."

"That's not a compromise!" Nagisa exclaimed as he got up and went into the kitchen as well. "Cmon, I'll give you a hand! Is this okay?"

As the two boys busied themselves in the kitchen, Kou took the time to look around the room, and her eyes fell on a familiar item on the floor at the foot of the tall cupboard to the left. "Isn't this...?" The girl asked as she reached forth and picked up the picture lying next to the blue trophy.

"Ah," Makoto started, following her gaze. "Yeah, that's the trophy we won as kids. Rin said he didn't need it anymore." He finished sadly.

Kou stared at the picture in her hands. It showed her brother and the other four of the bunch as kids, victorious grins on their faces. "Everyone's smiling..." she commented almost wistfully as she stared at her brother's carefree expression.

"Actually, Haru's the sole exception in this photo." Makoto corrected.

"Oh come off it, Mako. We all know Haru-kun secretly wants to start doing a jig." Byakuya scoffed. It was at this point that Nagisa returned to the room carrying a tray of tea and knelt beside them.

"Yep!" The blonde added cheerily. "Haru-chan's always smiling on the inside."

"You make him sound like a bad person!" Kou giggled, and the others joined in on the laughter. Only Byakuya quietly stood up, going into the kitchen- the conversation of the past was making her feel uncomfortable.

"Isn't that so, Haru-kun? You're just a big ball of sunshine on the inside, ain't cha?" Byakuya said teasingly as she nudged Haruka. The boy simply gave "hmph"ed and looked away, returning his attention to the squid he was grilling.

"What are you doing in here?" Haruka asked simply.

"What? Can't bug my friend for no good reason?"

Haruka just hmm'd again at the girls' response. He didn't quite believe her; she never did anything without a motive. However, she respected his silence, so he would do the same.

"So... this is the first time Rin's come back from to Japan since he left?" Makoto inquired after the laughter died down. Byakuya bristled as they broached the topic that she'd dreaded.

"Huh?" Kou exclaimed confusedly. "He came back for New Years' every year!"

The brown-eyed girl froze as she heard this new piece of information.

"Really?" Nagisa exclaimed. "And he never told us? How mean!"

Byakuya noticed as Haruka stiffened slightly at Nagisa's question. She peered over at him curiously; had Nagisa unconsciously struck a nerve? Her eyes narrowed- Haru knew and felt more than he was letting on. As her gaze flickered off to the side, she caught Makoto looking at Haru as well. It looked like she wasn't the only one who'd sensed Haru's discomfort.

_'Curiouser and curiouser...'_

* * *

><p>"Hello?"<p>

"Nagi-kun? It's Byakuya. Are you free to talk now?"

The dark-haired girl was sitting in the living room of her house, speaking into her cell phone. It had been a couple of hours since the bunch of them had left Haruka's place, and when she had gotten home, something kept nagging at her. Maybe it was the stifling silence of her home that made her think too much, but she had the strongest urge to speak to Nagisa for some reason.

"Oh, Bya-kun! What's up?" Nagisa's cheerful voice greeted from the other end of the line.

Here Byakuya hesitated. What was she doing? She didn't think it through when she dialled Nagisa's number, she just went with the first thing that popped into her mind. So she decided to do just that again.

"How are you feeling?" She blurted out. "And I don't mean the 'oh I'm fine, how bout you?' kind of question, I wanna know how you're really feeling about this while situation. Yknow, with Rin all that. Like, what's been happening the past couple days. Yeah, how are you feeling about that?"

Damn her brain. She just blabbered on about anything and everything when she got nervous; which was how she felt now. She still wasn't sure why she was doing this; just like how she wasn't sure why she'd said what she had to Haru on the train yesterday.

_'Musta been that heart-to-heart I had with Mako. Jeez, I'm getting soft.'_ She thought as she once again rubbed her head anxiously. There was a long pause on Nagisa's side, and Byakuya panicked slightly. Had she said something wrong? Was he offended? Did he think she had gone crazy? Wha-

"I haven't heard you talk like that in years, Bya-kun." Nagisa suddenly commented in a somewhat wistful tone, halting her thoughts immediately.

"What?" She was surprised. What did he mean?

"The way you sound now, all nervous and blubbering like a fish-"

"I do not!" Okay, maybe she did.

"Haha, whatever you say, Bya-kun. But that's not what I was getting at. You actually sound... concerned... " he trailed off.

"What?" She was stumped. This was not where she had planned for this conversation to go- not that she actually had planned anything, but still, this was far from what she had expected.

"Never mind, Bya-kun." Nagisa continued happily and ignored her question. "I'm just glad you asked, I was getting sorta tired not telling anyone! Anyway, how I feel... well, it's sad, you know? Rin-chan isn't the same as he used to be, and he almost seems to hate us for some reason! And not telling us when he came back the past few years... I don't understand, did we do something wrong? I thought we left on pretty good terms... and then there's all those things he said to us..."

Nagisa's voice had gradually grown more solemn as he had continued his statement. At this point, Byakuya forgot all about his previous comment- she was more concerned about him now. "Nagi-kun..."

"But that's why we gotta start a swim club, don't you see?" He cut in determinedly. "If we start a swim club, maybe... maybe we can get Rin-chan to realize something and we can be friends again! Maybe we'll even get to swim together once more... It's gotta be worth a shot, it has to be! If it isn't... what else is?"

He sounded more doubtful now than he did when he had suggested the idea the first, probably since he didn't need to play the optimist for everyone else's sake. He was being honest now- he was just as hesitant about this whole thing as they were. He let the hurt he felt at Rin's actions show more evidently in his voice now, and something in Byakuya flared up.

"We have to keep hoping, Nagi-kun." She stated fiercely. "We won't know if we don't try, and if this is the only thing we can do, then hell, we're gonna do it! We're gonna knock some sense into Rin's thick skull whether he likes it or not!"

A long silence. Then, suddenly, Nagisa started laughing. Byakuya couldn't help but smile- that sounded more like the Nagisa she knew.

"Thank you, Bya-kun!" He thanked sincerely after he had managed to stop laughing. "I knew the old you was still in there somewhere."

"Whaddya m-"

"Anyway, I gotta go eat dinner now, my sisters are calling me." Nagisa cut her off enthusiastically. "You should go do the same. See ya, Bya-kun!"

"Wai-"

But he had already hung up.

Byakuya stared at her cell phone for the longest time. She could still hear Nagisa's words echoing in her mind...

"_You actually sound... concerned_."

Of course she sounded concerned! She cared for the wellbeing of her friends. They knew that, didn't they?

...Didn't they?

"_I knew the old you was still in there somewhere!_"

That sounded suspiciously like what she believed for Rin- was she like him? Had she changed, just like he had? She hoped not, but why else would Nagisa had said that if she hadn't? What confused her the most was she couldn't figure out when in the world she had-

A memory clicked into place. The talk she had had with Makoto.

"_All I did was run away. I still am, and I hate myself for it. But I just can't stop."_

That was what Nagisa had meant; that was what had changed. She was running away. She had shirked her responsibilities, ignored the seriousness of the situations at hand... she'd given up back then. And she had carried that attitude all the way up until now.

The best part was that she hadn't even noticed.

She suddenly laughed bitterly and gazed up at the glass cabinet that sat against the wall on the opposite side of the hall. Inside the cabinet sat several trophies and medals won by her mother and brother in swimming competitions; Byakuya had a few of her own in there as well. She stared at one medal in particular- one that sat in a special box of its own and was made of solid gold.

Her mother's Olympic medal.

"Mom... just how far did I run?" She asked desperately.

She didn't get an answer. Not that she was expecting one in the first place.

* * *

><p>AN: Yeah I sorta used a line from Alice in Wonderland here. And made a small reference to 50%Off (If you don't know what that is, go YouTube it. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.) Just to clarify that. Also, gotta love Kou and her reactions to hot men. So relatable. I hope the conversation with Nagisa wasn't too OOC, I know he's a huge ball of sunshine, but I figure he's gotta have his down moments as well. I suppose ya'll can see where Byakuya's character growth is going now- I think I made it sorta obvious at this point. I hope I'm able to make it realistic.<br>Reviews are much appreciated! Thanks for reading, see ya'll next time!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Since everyone's on board; I decided to pick up a new club application form!" Nagisa announced cheerily, brandishing the piece of paper he was talking about. The usual bunch of them were sitting on the roof again for lunch that day, and they had been discussing the idea of the swimming club that had been presented the previous day.

"You move fast." Makoto commented, somewhat impressed at the boy's efficiency.

"It's important to get the ball rolling!" Nagisa justified. He wanted to get things started now when everyone was still enthusiastic about the idea. "Let's see... the purpose of this club is... to train our minds and bodies through swimming and to improve the school experience!"

Byakuya raised an eyebrow. Nagisa really was a smart lad, despite what his innocent looks suggested. She never would've thought up such an intelligent sentence- her mind only worked that well when she really wanted to. The thought solemned her up immediately as she recalled the conversation from yesterday and she quietly started on her lunch.

"And you know what you're doing." Makoto added, with admiration in his tone.

"There will be four members initially," Nagisa continued, puffing up slightly with a hint of pride at his friend's indirect praise. "Mako-chan, you can be the captain."

"Shouldn't it be Haru?" Makoto corrected hesitantly. "He's the fastest swimmer."

"This isn't about speed," Nagisa explained. "Different people are better at different things.

"Nagi-kun has a point." Byakuya agreed through a bite of her sandwich. "I mean, can you imagine 'Good-guy Captain Haruka'?"

The three of them glanced at Haru, trying to picture him as the enthusiastic leader type.

...

It was a pretty terrifying image.

"...Yeah. I don't think so." Makoto coughed, sweatdropping.

"I know what's coming to haunt me in my nightmares tonight." Byakuya shuddered.

"So it's settled then! Mako-chan will be the captain, and Haru-chan can be the vice-captain!" Nagisa concluded, seemingly unaffected by the mental image of Captain Haruka like the other two were. "

"Hey, don't just volunteer me." Haruka interrupted, slightly annoyed as he put down his bento.

"Now now now," Nagisa said placatingly. "Vice-captain is just an empty position with no actual responsibilities, do don't worry."

Byakuya snorted while Makoto deadpanned. "You just offended every vice-captain on this planet."

Nagisa just laughed sheepishly and continued. "Moving on...I'll be the treasurer, Bya-kun can be the secretary... all we need now is a faculty advisor!"

"Any ideas?" Makoto asked, crossing his arms.

"If it's gonna be Mr Hasegawa I am out." Byakuya added quickly. She swore that man hated her guts- probably because she'd nearly failed every History exam he'd ever given her.

"No, not him." Nagisa mused out loud. "I was thinking maybe we could ask Ama-chan."

"Miss Ama-chan?" Makoto inquired. Why would Nagisa suggest her?

"I heard a crazy story from one of my classmates..." Nagisa confided.

"There are loads of those, Nagi-kun. Some are actually saying that the lady's a 60 year old granny in disguise. You can't believe any rumours you hear in this school." Byakuya stated.

"Never mind that," Makoto cut in quickly, before the ridiculous topic could continue. "Let's hear what they had to say."

"Alright?" Nagisa said, somewhat confused at his friends' reactions. "Well, you see..."

* * *

><p>"Eh?" Miss Amakata exclaimed. She was in the faculty office, and was a little stunned at the request the students standing in front of her were asking for.<p>

"I can't do it." Miss Amakata declined politely. "Sports aren't my thing; I mean, I teach Classical Literature."

"But I heard that until last year, you had a job in Tokyo that involved swimsuits." Nagisa said curiously.

The teacher was startled and immediately shot up, leaning closer to the blonde. "Don't say that so loudly! Who told you that?!" She whispered urgently.

'Real smooth, Nagi-kun.' Byakuya snorted to herself, restraining the smirk that threatened to show. The boy probably had no idea that what he'd said would have elicited such a reaction from the woman.

Or did he?

"It was Nashimoto-kun, from my class." The pink-eyed boy said innocently.

"Did you work for a swimsuit designer?" Makoto inquired.

"W-what?" Miss Amakata stuttered out. "Uhm, yes, I suppose you could say that..."

Byakuya tilted her head curiously. What was it that had made the teacher so nervous?

"In that case," Makoto continued enthusiastically. "We would be thrilled if you could advise us on the technology that goes into competitive swimwear!"

"Advise us!" Nagisa added insistently.

"Please!" The two boys said as they bowed in unison.

The poor teacher looked terrified at all the pressure she was receiving, and Byakuya felt a twang of sympathy for her as she stood by the sidelines with Haru. Nagisa especially could be very determined when it came to getting people to comply with his wishes, and it was obvious that Miss Amakata's resolve was crumbling.

"...if you really need me..." she finally complied, albeit grudgingly.

"Thank you very much!" The boys said happily. Byakuya couldn't help but smile. Really, these guys...

Haruka just winced at Nagisa's loud cheer, silent as always. How troublesome...

* * *

><p>Kou Matsuoka stood at the entrance counter of Samezuka Academy. She had rushed here as soon as the last bell of school had rung and was determined to see Rin. She wasn't sure how much more she could take from being ignored by her big brother and had decided to take a more drastic measure.<p>

"I'm Rin Matsuoka's sister." She informed the man handling the counter. "I'm here to see my brother."

The man put hs newspaper down briefly to look at a file on his desk in response to Kou's statement. "Ah, I'm afraid Matsuoka-kun isn't back yet."

"Really..." Kou wanted to hit something. It was like the world was against her and was determined to keep her away from Rin somehow. It was absolutely frustrating! Why couldn't she just see her big brother...?

No. She couldn't give up yet. There had to be someone... someone who knew what was going on, even if just a little bit. She had to try.

"Um, excuse me," she said to the man at the counter once again. "Would it be okay if I could just take a look around the school? I'd like to search a little more for my brother."

The man seemed a bit apprehensive at first- probably offended that she didn't believe him or something along those lines- but eventually complied.

"Very well. Please carry this visitor's pass around as you do."

"Thank you!" Kou thanked as she took the pass from the man and went on her way.

Somehow, she was going to get some answers. There was no way she was leaving until she did.

* * *

><p>The scarlet-haired girl stepped through the doors leading to the entrance of the swimming pool of Samezuka. She was standing in a hallway with glass windows lining the walls that offered a view of the indoor pool. The girl figured that she'd start here first- if there was anyone who knew anything about Rin, it would probably be his swimming partners.<p>

"Excuse me..." she started to ask, but stopped short as she got a better view of the pool. Or rather, the people currently using it.

'_Incredible_!' She squealed internally. '_Truly a prestigious school's swimming club! Traps and pecs everywhere! Totally gorgeous!'_ Kou barely restrained her swooning as she stared shamelessly at the large group of young men performing stretches and swimming in the pool, all clothed in nothing but their swimming trunks. She could practically hear the angel voices and heavenly harps playing as she ogled all the fit figures.

She sort of envied Byakuya if this was the kind of sight the girl had gotten to behold for so many years now. This was muscle-lover heaven.

"Hey, so it's you?" A male voice interrupted, snapping Kou out of her fantasizing.

A tall boy with golden eyes and hair an even brighter shade of red than hers had walked up to her and asked the question. He looked to be about two years older than her, and was wearing Samezuka Academy's regular black jacket and pants.

"Eh?" Kou asked. She hadn't quite caught the question- she'd been more than a little distracted by all the half-naked men.

"The one looking for her big brother?" The boy inquired again.

"O-oh, yes." She stuttered out. She was somewhat embarassed and silently hoped that the boy hadn't noticed her ogling.

"Hold on a second..." the boy suddenly trailed off for a moment, his eyes widening in surprise.

"You know..." he suddenly blushed. "You're kinda cute."

Kou was taken aback slightly at the sudden statement, but then giggled sheepishly and gave the older boy a small smile. She was quite an attractive young girl, and comments like those came by rather often, so she wasn't too flustered. It also helped her confidence somewhat since her boyish name made her feel rather uncomfortable.

"Thank you." She said sincerely. "I'm looking for Rin Matsuoka, my brother."

"Matsuoka?" The redheaded boy asked confusedly. "There's no one named Matsuoka on the swim team."

"...Huh?"

* * *

><p>Inside the halls of the old Iwatobi Swim Club, the lone figure of Rin Matsuoka wandered the halls. It was pretty late into the afternoon, and the boy was walking towards a particular location in the rundown building. He hadn't gotten to retrieve the other item he had wanted earlier that week since he'd run into Haru and the gang, so the redheaded boy decided to make the trip again now to make up for it.<p>

As he turned into the former lounge of the swim club, he stopped short. Standing in front of the wall of photos was one of the people he least desired to see at that moment.

"What are you doing here?" He growled out. Byakuya simply shot him a glance over her shoulder and returned her attention to the wall. She was still clad in her school uniform- she must have been here for a while.

"I could ask you the same thing, Rin-kun. " the girl responded passively. She supposed she should have felt angry or upset at the boy, but at the moment she couldn't bring herself to. Nagisa's words from yesterday kept haunting her- it was driving her insane- and it was the whole reason she was here, in the place she had at first dreaded so much to go to. She was too tired to muster up the energy to get mad at Rin.

Plus, what Nagisa had said had made her rethink some of the dark thoughts she'd held towards her old friend. Was Rin like her? Could it be... he was running away as well?

"Tch. Whatever." Rin scoffed as he sauntered up to the wall. He had been hoping for some time alone, and he was pretty miffed that he wouldn't be getting it now, but decided that he'd simply ignore Byakuya's presence. He stopped right in front of the picture he had come for, and just stared at it for the longest time.

Four boys stood in the photo, all wearing medals and holding up a trophy. Not much different from the picture that he himself had taken with his own friends. Both pictures meant equally as much to Rin. The maroon-eyed boy just stood there for a while, a million thoughts running through his head. He was lost. So very, very lost.

What was he supposed to do now?

He felt his eyes tear up ever so slightly and clenched them shut immediately. No. He wouldn't let the tears overcome him. Not in front of someone else. Not while he was alone. Not ever. Tears were a sign of weakness, and Rin Matsuoka was not- could not be- weak.

He reached out and took the picture from the wall and just held it in his hands, looking at it with a blank expression on his face. He then pocketed the photo and turned to leave, but just as he was halfway out the door, he stopped. Byakuya still hadn't moved.

Rin glanced back at the girl, remembering how she'd looked that day at Samezuka. She had seemed ready to murder him back then, but now... she didn't even bother. It was the perfect oppurtunity for her to rant at him- deep down, he had hoped she would have, just to take his mind of the torturous thoughts running through his head- but she didn't. She looked utterly emotionless- it was a look he hadn't seen on Byakuya's face in a long time.

He considered calling out to her, but stopped himself and shook his head fiercely. She wasn't any of his concern; not anymore. None of them were. They weren't the same friends that they used to be; they had changed- grown up. He couldn't afford to have anyone holding him back.

With that conclusive thought in mind, Rin left the lounge, leaving the black-haired girl by herself in the empty room, the light gradually fading away with the arrival of night.

* * *

><p>AN: Not quite so much OC POV this round, pretty short chappy too. Such a depressing ending the past two chapters have had. I know it might be sorta strange to have Byakuya start out somewhat happier in the beginning and darker in the ending, but I'm hoping that it shows her somewhat indefinite emotional and mental state at this point. Also, fun fact: Back when I was getting the idea for this fic, I had originally planned to make it a RinOC. I still don't quite know how that plan changed, haha!

Shout out to pokemondemon369 for favouriting this fic! Thanks so much, I hope to be able to live up to your expectations!

Please review, guys! I really would like to know what you all think; suggestions, constructive criticism, anything! I would like to be able to improve the fic with your help! Thanks for reading, see you guys next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Now, in regard to the swim club charter you submitted..."

Byakuya suddenly yawned loudly, cutting Miss Amakata off in the middle of her announcement. The Shion blinked blearily and apologized when everyone, even Haru, gave her a look. She currently stood with her friends in front of Miss Amakata's desk; the teacher had summoned them after school to discuss the issue of their request to make a swim club. She was just as eager as everyone else to know if it had been approved, but she was ridiculously sleepy since she had arrived home late last night. She had barely been able to make it through her classes without falling asleep.

'_I really need to get over this philosophical phase soon_.' She groaned internally. The mental exhaustion was so not worth it. It had been 4 days since the encounter she had with Rin at the swim club, and she still hadn't told anyone about it- not that there was much to tell. Plus, she really didn't want anyone to know she had been venturing back to the old swim club nearly every day since then. For some reason, being at the rundown building where she'd once spent so many years of her childhood helped her to think more clearly in solitude, which was what she really needed at this point.

Makoto would probably lecture her for going there by herself if he found out, and he'd either insist on going with her the next time or stop her from going there altogether; neither of which she could really afford right now. With each time she went back to the abandoned swim club to clear her head, she had finally been able to- albeit slowly- come to terms with her thoughts. As guilty as it made her feel to hide it from her friends, this was something she felt she had to do by herself for once.

"As I was saying," Miss Amakata continued, somewhat annoyed at being cut off in the middle of her suspenseful statement. "After strict review by the faculty... " a dramatic pause. They all held their breath.

"... it was approved!" The teacher finished exuberantly, turning the request papers around to show them the huge stamp of approval.

"Really?" Makoto exclaimed happily.

"That's great! Can I go home now?" Byakuya perked up immediately, earning herself another reproachful look from everyone. "...Just kidding." Not really.

"Anyway, that's awesome! I knew we could count on a former swimwear company employee!" Nagisa enthused.

"Th-that's right." Miss Amakata stuttered, seemingly caught off-guard for a minute. She seemed a little discomforted at Nagisa's mention of her previous occupation, but she was rather proud of herself at her students' awe. "This is what I can do when I put my mind to it! However, a school organization is required to have 5 members, so you'll have to find one more person."

Here, Miss Amakata paused a bit, lifting the registration papers to cover the lower half of her face in a gesture of hesitation. "Also... there's one more condition..."

Byakuya felt her heart plummet at the way the teacher had put forth that statement._ 'Oh no. No no no no this can't be good. Say no, guys, say no say no say-"_

"No problem! I'm willing to do anything!" Nagisa proclaimed determinedly.

'_...Shit.'_

* * *

><p>Overgrown grass. Weeds sprouting from the walls and floor. Abandoned pieces of scrap on the ground. Dirt was everywhere. What had once been a swimming pool was now a dump and possibly a breeding ground for pests.<p>

And they had to pretty it up.

Byakuya inhaled deeply, resisting the urge to turn around and run for the hills. Despite her nagging thoughts, she forced herself to remain still, her resolve solidifying. _'Remember what you have to do.'_ She thought fiercely to herself. _'It's time to suck it up and take the responsibility for once in your damned life.'_

Even if it meant doing what she hated the most- work.

"Wow, so much nature." Nagisa commented idly, seemingly unaffected by the sight before him.

"Are you saying that..." Makoto asked hesitantly. Surely they weren't serious about...

"Yes. You have to restore this pool to a usable state." Miss Amakata confirmed.

Next to Byakuya, Makoto and Haruka slowly backed away, an obvious attempt at escape. They might have gotten away with it, too...

But then the demons of hell pounced.

And by demons, Byakuya meant Nagisa and Miss Amakata- not that there was much of a difference. They clamped their hands around the wrists of the the two who were trying to escape without even turning around.

"You're not allowed to run away." Nagisa sang sweetly as he faced his friends with a closed-eyed smile.

"You said you'd do anything." Miss Amakata added with a similar tone and facial expression. Despite what their expressions and flowery words suggested, it was clear that twere threatening the two teens.

Makoto and Haruka gulped. Byakuya just turned away, hiding her smile with the back of her hand. At least she wouldn't be suffering alone.

* * *

><p>"I can't pull this one out!" Byakuya cried. They had been weeding the floor of the empty pool, and she had been yanking at a particularly stubborn weed which was refusing to budge.<p>

"Here, lemme give you a hand." Makoto offered, pulling at the plant Byakuya had been working on. He pulled again. And again.

The thing wasn't even loosening.

"What's up with you guys?" Nagisa asked as he and Haru walked up to where the two of them were.

"This one won't come out, not even Mako could do it." Byakuya huffed.

"Really? Let me try." Nagisa said as he knelt down in front of the weed.

"Oh come on, Nagi-kun, there's no way you can-"

But the boy just grabbed the stalk and, with a simple flick of his wrist, yanked the whole thing out, roots and all.

"That wasn't so hard!" The blonde said cheerily as he casually threw the plant into the accumulating pile and walked away to continue weeding.

The others stared after Nagisa in a mixture of disbelief and a hint of fear, silently swearing that they would never piss Nagisa off. Ever.

* * *

><p>"We're probably gonna need to use some pesticide. There sure are a lot of bugs hanging around here." Makoto commented as he waved away the small swarm of dustflies that flew up as he swept all the litter into a pile.<p>

Haruka nodded in agreement. The insects were starting to get to him too- and it took a lot to bother him.

"Well, it could be worse." Nagisa commented optimistically. "The bugs we've seen so far are pretty small and harmless, at least we haven't seen any-"

"SON OF A FUCKING-"

"...major pests." Nagisa finished awkwardly as they all watched Byakuya sprint away at top speed, spouting a long string of colourful words when a rat came scuttling out from under the leaves.

They all sweatdropped.

* * *

><p>"Ahhh, finally." Byakuya sighed, stretching her arms. They had finally finished clearing the weeds and overgrown plants in the area, and were all sweaty and covered in grime and dust from all the time they had spent under the sun. She felt gross, icky and she was sure she smelled terrible. They had been going at this for days, and she couldn't wait to get a break that weekend.<p>

"Hey, guys, come over here a sec?" Makoto called. They all did as he asked, and the Tachibana pointed at the large cracks lining the walls of the pool. "We're gonna need to patch this up."

"How are we gonna go about doing that?" Nagisa inquired.

"Well... Makoto thought about it for a moment. "We're probably gonna need some cement, and a trowel, among other things..."

Byakuya wanted to die. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep forever, but she couldn't push this aside until later. The swim club couldn't afford to. This needed to be done as soon as possible, whether she liked it or not.

_'And actually... all this work isn't too bad when I've got the others around. Sorta fun actually."_

...

Nah. That was just the exhaustion talking.

* * *

><p>"It's a little out of bounds, but this place is really convenient! It sells practically everything all in one place, and the prices are really cheap too!" Nagisa said enthusiastically as he and his gang sat in Miss Amakata's car. It was the day after the pool weeding, and the teacher had agreed to send them to the huge Dolphins supermarket outside of town to get the supplies they needed that day. She really was a nice lady, always willing to help out her students whenever they needed it.<p>

"Oh yeah, my dad brought the twins shopping there once." Makoto commented from his seat between Haru and Byakuya. "He spent hours there, though he only needed to use about 1 to complete the shopping. The rest of the time he was trying to find Ren and Ran when they ran off. It's a pretty huge place."

"I hope you kids brought a list with you, then." Miss Amakata shot a glance at the three teens seated in the back through her mirror. "It would be quite difficult if you all were to just wander in mindlessly."

"Byaku-chan's got it, ri-"

But before Makoto could finish the question, a slight "ahem" from Haru made him turn around. Byakuya was out like a light as she curled up in her seat- she was even snoring a little.

"Wow, she's out cold." Miss Amakata commented.

"Bya-kun has been pretty tired since yesterday." Nagisa commented thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but she's acting a little different too..." Makoto trailed off, glancing back at the dark-haired girl. He'd noticed that she'd had a slight change in attitude- she hadn't complained about the amount of work they were doing despite how tired she was- hints of dark circles were beginning to show under her eyes, and Makoto wouldn't be Makoto if he didn't notice them. She had also shown more dedication in doing this than she'd had in... well, years.

Makoto just smiled gently, slowly moving Byakuya's head from its uncomfortable position against the glass to rest against his shoulder. After all these years, it looked like Byakuya was finally starting to carry on.

* * *

><p>"Why would we need a hammer, Nagi-kun?" Byakuya deadpanned, leaning against the cart she was pushing.<p>

"Well, maybe... we might need to hammer some nails in and stuff!" The Hazuki justified weakly.

"In a pool?" Makoto reasoned.

"... aww, fine." Nagisa pouted and put the hammer back on the shelf reluctantly. They had arrived at Dolphins a couple of minutes ago, and were looking through the hardware department for the tools they needed. Unfortunately, even though they had a list to go by, Nagisa was pretty intent on buying out the whole store.

"Really, Nagi-kun, just cuz this place sells everything at low prices doesn't mean we have to buy one of everything." Byakuya commented as she pushed the cart full of the items that they needed down the aisle, looking for other tools on the list.

"I didn't say we had to buy one of everything! I just thought we'd need some more stuff, just in case, y'know?"

"You've suggested buying a hammer, a golf club, a frying pan and a garden gnome, Nagisa." Makoto added.

"The garden gnome would have been cute!"

"It was a hideous pink, Nagi-kun."

"The pink wasn't hideous!"

"Wait... where's Haru?" Makoto suddenly interrupted as he realized his best friend had disappeared. How had thay happened without his notice?

"Huh? When did Haru-chan le-"

But Nagisa was cut off by the sound of Makoto yelling and dashing towards the other end of the aisle, where the aquariums and fish care supplies were.

It was also where Haruka was stripping down to his swimming trunks.

"HARU! NOT HERE!" Makoto exclaimed frantically as he restrained his friend from entering the large aquarium before him. Unfortunately, Haruka could struggle pretty well, and even Nagisa had to assist Makoto in pulling back the Nanase.

"Haru-chan! We can't let people see you half-naked in public!" Nagisa cried as he grabbed Haruka's arm.

"Uh, guys...!" Byakuya informed urgently. "There's a security guard coming around the corner..."

"Crap! Hide!" Makoto cried as the three of them pulled Haruka away to hide behind another aisle. How would this turn out...

...

"Can the four of you please explain why I had to come in and get security to release you?" Miss Amakata asked in a dangerously sweet voice.

"... We're sorry." The four teens bowed as they apologized. This was really not how they had planned their shopping trip to turn out.

Well, at least they got their supplies.

* * *

><p>"Here it is! My masterpiece!" Nagisa proclaimed as he held up his drawing.<p>

At least, Byakuya assumed it was a drawing. It was difficult to tell- it looked more like a rainbow had been murdered viciously on a piece of paper and this was the result. They were sharing the art room with the students of the art club today, trying to create a recruitment poster for their own club. However, it wasn't exactly going too well...

_'That thing could possibly be scarier than Good-guy Captain Haruka.'_ Byakuya shuddered. She wasn't exactly an artist herself, but still...

"Eheh. It's, um... very abstract, Nagisa." Makoto commented nervously. "But I think it might a little... too complicated for the other students to understand?"

Really, that boy tried so hard to be nice.

"Let's see yours then, Haru-kun." Byakuya said quickly, trying to switch topics. The addressed boy simply looked up casually, and lifted his sheet for them to see.

"Holy shit..." Byakuya murmured as she saw what Haruka had created. It depicted a scenery of a cliff by the sea at sunset, where a man was being reached out to by several cherubs. Above the illustration were the words "Join us and Swim, Iwatobi Swim Club." It was absolutely marvellous.

Several loud squeals could be heard from behind them, and the four teens turned around to behold the members of the art club swooning at the beauty of Haruka's artwork. They looked like they had just witnessed a miracle being performed in front of them- which wasn't too far off the mark.

...

Nagisa, Makoto and Byakuya spent the rest of their time trying to get Haruka out of the clingy grabby hands of the vultures more commonly known as the members of the art club. All that painting and sculpting must have given them some pretty good upper body strength.

* * *

><p>"Bya-kun?"<p>

"Hm?"

"What's up with you recently?" Nagisa asked. He and Byakuya were trimming the overgrown plants that had grown into the fenced compound while the other two were handling the repainting of the pool. It had been a rather productive two weeks; they had finished patching up most of the pool and were now down to the finishing touches.

Byakuya sighed. "Did those guys put you up to this?" She asked back, gesturing to Makoto and Haruka.

"Well, not really, I just thought I'd ask... but they were wondering too." Nagisa admitted sheepishly. "You've been a little different, Bya-kun."

The girl sighed again and stopped trimming the overgrown stems. She quietly contemplated her words for a while before she answered.

"I... I did quite a lot of thinking about what you said that day, Nagi-kun." She started slowly. "And you were right. I'd changed; and I barely even noticed. It scared me into realizing that... I can't run from my troubles anymore. Everything is changing, we're all growing up, and if I can't face my responsibilities and problems head on... I'll fall. And I don't want to bring anyone else down with me if I do. You guys are my family, but I rely on you all far too much to keep me upright. I don't want any of you to be hurt or held back because of my incapabilities. So... the least I can try to do now is change, to make myself care again. And if it'll help in bringing Rin back too, then that's even better!"

Nagisa had fallen silent at Byakuya's short speech and stared at the girl, mouth slightly agape. Just when the silence was growing a bit discomforting for the Shion...

"You think of us as your family, Bya-kun?" Nagisa asked disbelievingly.

"Of course! You guys have been with me practically my whole life; what else would I think of you guys as?" She responded incredulously. Nagisa's expression of disbelief slowly gave wwayto a sunny smile at that, and before Byakuya could blink, Nagisa had her in an enthusiastic hug.

"I knew it! I knew you'd go back to normal, Bya-kun! I knew it!" He cheered.

"Nagi-kun...C-can't... breathe..." she wheezed out.

"Oops! Sorry, Bya-kun!" The boy laughed as he released the girl, who gasped for air.

"Y-you... you really are a lot stronger than you look, ain't cha?" She chuckled, a small smile on her face.

"It's all in the knees, Bya-kun."

She laughed. "How is that even relevant?"

As the two of them conversed and casually resumed their job, they didn't notice their two other friends watching them from the pool. Haruka and Makoto were just watching them as they laughed with each other, a soft smile on the latter's face.

"Looks like Nagisa's sorted it out." Makoto commented.. "I haven't heard Byaku-chan laugh in a while now."

Upon that statement, Haruka glanced at his tall companion. Makoto looked relieved, happy... and a bit of something else.

"Makoto?" Haruka asked slowly.

The Tachibana blinked for a moment before he looked back at his friend. "Hm? What is it, Haru?"

The raven-haired boy just gave his friend a knowing look. In response, Makoto sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's... it's a little complicated." Makoto replied, answering Haru's unpsoken question. "I'm just a bit... discomforted that she told Nagisa instead of one of us. Y'know, since we've known her longer and all. Though, I suppose we should have tried asking her firsthand as well..."

Haruka raised a brow. There was more to it.

Makoto just chuckled nervously at the look Haru gave him. Just as Makoto could read Haruka, it worked vice versa as well. "Okay, so... maybe I'm a bit upset. I'm not mad though! It's just... I feel a little... uncomfortable, sort of. Well, not uncomfortable, per se, more like, uhm..."

"You're jealous." Haruka deduced simply, and resumed painting again.

"W-what?" Makoto exclaimed, startled. "I-I'm not jealous!"

Haruka didn't say anything, but shot his friend another glance. Makoto's reaction pretty much confirmed his suspicions.

"...okay, fine. Maybe a little. But only because she didn't tell one of us instead!" Makoto added quickly.

"If I had hugged her, you'd still be jealous." Haruka stated simply.

"It wasn't because of the hug!"

Haruka just shrugged and relented. His best friend was in denial, but he knew better.

Really, teenagers could be so peculiar.

* * *

><p>AN: So here begins Byakuya's character growth! She's got her goals in mind, but I hope I'll be able to write her slow maturation process believably. Also, yay, somewhat jealous Mako! I figure that's about as jealous as the guy can get, really. I think he'd be too nice to be clingy type or to show it, but that wouldn't stop him from feeling a little miffed when someone gets too comfortable with the person he likes. Was it believeable? Or do you guys think he'd react in another way? Do let me know what you think!<p>

Thanks for reading this chapter! See you guys next water time!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

Byakuya hummed to herself as she walked into the compound of the pool. It was recess now, and while most students would be having lunch, she had decided to go and work on cleaning up the place. It was nearly complete- she couldn't wait to get it over with and finally get some rest. She had to admit; it was also rather rewarding to see the results of the hard work she and her friends had done.

She still hated manual labour, but it wasn't too bad when she had the motivation to do it.

As she towed along the push broom she had brought with her, she paused at the edge of the pool. Apparently someone had beaten her there.

"Haru-kun. Skipped out on lunch too, huh?" She asked idly as she shrugged off her outer uniform jacket and placed it aside. The raven-haired boy who was already scrubbing the pool floor simply grunted in acknowledgement. Typical.

"Just a little more to go, then we can fill this baby up with water and get started on the actual swimming. Well, once it's warm enough to, at least." Byakuya continued as she hopped into the pool and joined Haruka in cleaning up.

"I guess the wait must be agonizing for you, eh? You've been pretty pumped up about this." She added, making light conversation as she scrubbed. It was true; the Nanase boy had definitely surprised Byakuya with the amount of dedication he was showing. Haruka barely responded to the comment, but she didn't mind. It was the norm.

They fell into silence after that as they worked on clearing the grime of the floor. Byakuya was humming to herself again as she worked, comfortable with the quiet atmosphere.

"I like the change." Haruka commented suddenly.

"Huh?" Byakuya paused in surprised She wasn't expecting Haruka to break their normal routine of silence- normally she was the one who did that. Haruka rarely ever inititated one-on-one conversations with people other than Makoto.

"Your attitude. It's good." He responded curtly.

Byakuya blinked. She took a moment to process his words, and when she did, her face broke out into a smile.

"Thanks, Haru-kun. I like having the old you back as well." She said sincerely. The boy simply looked away and resumed his scrubbing, feeling slightly embarassed at the comment. She chuckled at his response and returned to her work as well.

If Byakuya was younger, she would have been over the moon at Haru's compliment. She'd had it pretty bad for the boy back then; getting extremely awkward around him when they were alone for even a short while, blushing when he looked at her... she wanted to hit herself for the way she'd acted back then. If she was gonna get all girly and shy whenever she liked someone, she hoped she'd never find a boyfriend- just imagine how out of character she would be.

She snorted to herself and earned a strange glance from Haruka. Really, the thought of her getting all demure and sweet with another guy was hilarious. Really, if she had to go out with someone, it would be someone she could was comfortable with- someone she could be herself around. Someone like...

She blushed furiously when the image of Makoto came into her mind. She shook her head violently to clear the thought, earning yet another perplexed glance from Haru.

"I - it's nothing, Haru-kun. Just, um, a headache, that's all. Ehe..."

Haruka just gave her a look that clearly said he didn't believe her story one bit, but didn't pursue the topic and returned his attention to his job. She sighed internally in relief. The last thing she needed was Haruka finding out she was having ideas about his best friend.

Not that she liked Makoto. Nope. She didn't. Not like that. Not at all.

* * *

><p>"Isn't this fun?" Makoto asked as they continued with the paint job of the pool. "It feels like we're back in grade school!"<p>

"Grade schoolers wouldn't be asked to fix a pool." Haruka responded simply.

Makoto glanced at his friend, albeit startled at his response, but slowly smiled. He didn't show it, but Mako could tell that Haru was pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing.

"True." He responded.

"Instead, they're asked to scrub out the toilets for beating up a bully who was harassing someone first. Yeah, that's a lot more fair." Byakuya grumbled. Makoto just laughed at the memory. He was normally against the use of violence, but he had to admit that the bully from grade school had had it coming.

"It cleaned up rather nicely!" Miss Amakata praised as she observed her students tidying up the once rundown pool.

"Can't you get out of that chair and lend us a hand?" Nagisa cried. Their teacher had also been sitting in a very comfortable lounge chair with a very convenient umbrella to provide shade from the sweltering sun.

"Heh. So you finally feel the unfairness of it all, eh? Mr 'I'll-Do-Anything'?" Byakuya taunted, smirking.

Mr 'I'll-Do-Anything' conveniently placed his foot over her own. Hard. He really needed to stop doing that; she'd be crippled by the end of the year if this kept going on.

"Do you realize what you're saying?" Miss Amakata asked indignantly. "The UV rays during this time of the year are brutal. You're still young , so it's not an issue."

"So you're saying you're old then, Miss Ama-chan?" Nagisa asked innocently.

"...You better start running, Nagi-kun." Byakuya warned as an ominous cloud passed over Miss Amakata's face.

"Ehehe... I was just kidding, Miss Ama-chan... please don't kill me." Nagisa peeped out the last part.

Thankfully, Kou appeared just then, possibly saving Nagisa from a painful death.

"Oh, it's all cleaned up!" She commented.

"Ah, Gou-chan!" Nagisa called out, ever grateful for the girl's unintentional intervention. "Are you here to help us out?"

"I told you to call me Kou!" The girl shouted back. "Otherwise, you can't get any of this!" The girl brandished a plastic bag full of food that she had bought for the group's break.

"What? You can't be serious!" Nagisa whined.

Everyone just laughed, much to the blonde-haired boy's chagrin. Why did everyone assume it was funny whenever he became the victim?

* * *

><p>In the light of the setting sun, Rin Matsuoka sat on the bed of his shared dorm room, staring at the photo he had recovered from the swim club. The redheaded boy was alone in his room, since his roommate had gone to swimming practice.<p>

The thought of swimming practice sent another sharp pang through Rin's head. He grit his teeth and sat up straighter, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't know what to think. He thought he would have sorted things out after that race with Haru, and for a moment, he thought they did. But after that... the result had only made him even more frustrated.

He sighed heavily and lifted his head back up to look at the picture in his hands again. He stared at the grinning boy in the centre of the photo, and_couldn't_ help but mentally compare the boy here to the picture of his younger self. The same grin, the same sharp features...

Rin let his head fall back against the wall. He knew what he had to do- he had to continue with the path he had set for himself. He would beat Haruka and prove his worth. He would be the best swimmer. He _was_ the best.

Because if he wasn't... what was he?

* * *

><p>"Hey there!" Nagisa exclaimed enthusiastically. "Interested in joining the swim club?"<p>

"I've already decided to join the track team." The blue-haired boy Nagisa had addressed responded as he pushed up his glasses.

"Ah, okay then, thanks for your time." Byakuya thanked politely. The boy nodded curtly and walked away.

"Awww, loads of students have already joined other clubs! How are we supposed to get more members this late into the year?" Nagisa complained. The two of them had been trying to recruit students into the swim club- well, Nagisa was, at least; Byakuya just thanked people when they declined. It wasn't working out too well so far.

"Well, there has to be at least one student who has hasn't joined a club." Byakuya commented optimistically. "We just need to keep trying..."

"I know! We have to get them more interested somehow!" Nagisa cried as he grabbed Byakuya by the shoulders. "We have to catch their attention!"

"...I'm not gonna like this, am I?" Byakuya asked.

* * *

><p>"Hey guys! Let's have fun swimming together!" Nagisa exclaimed as he brandished a kickboard with a penguin design. He was wearing a swim cap and goggles as he exuberantly promoted the club.<p>

Next to him, Byakuya was stuck in the same accessories and holding a kickboard of her own. She wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Nagisa- not at all, actually. She just stood behind him feeling stupid.

"Why would you want to swim in the pool when the ocean's right over there?" One of the students Nagisa was speaking to asked, in an almost condescending tone. Byakuya- already annoyed at the negative responses they had received from everyone as well as looking ridiculous- turned to the boy who had asked the question and smiled eerily. He had asked the question, and he would get an an answer all right.

"We could. But for one, the currents of the ocean in certain regions could drag you out to sea or smash you against the rocks, resulting in a very painful death." Byakuya stated simply. "Then there's the issue of dangerous sea creatures, such as jellyfish, sharks and poisonous shellfish that could kill you within seconds. And then there's-"

But Nagisa slapped his hand around Byakuya to stop her tirade. He laughed sheepishly as the two boys they had been trying to recruit paled significantly and looked more than a little apprehensive now.

"U-um... we gotta head to class now..." the first kid started.

"Yeah! We, uh, we gotta finish an assignment!" The other said as he and his friend sprinted down the hallway.

"Bya-kun!" Nagisa whined. "What were you thinking?!"

"What? They asked." She responded.

Nagisa sighed. This was going to be a lot tougher than he thought.

* * *

><p>"If you join now, you'll get a year's supply of Iwatobi's mascot character; Iwatobi-chan!" Nagisa said as he held up a small wooden doll of the school mascot, which was a bird with a brown head and yellow body. It also wore a blue speedo.<p>

In Byakuya's opinion, that thing was downright freaky. Right up there with Captain Haruka and Nagisa's monstrous poster.

"No thanks." The students milling around the hallway responded.

"Told you no one would want that scary thing." Byakuya deadpanned.

* * *

><p>"No luck!" Nagisa groaned as he fell back onto the bench in the old changing room. Haru and Mako were there as well. "Nobody wants to join! They've either joined another club already or were scared away by Bya-kun!"<p>

"That kid was asking for it. Trying to be a smartass." Byakuya grumbled. "And you were the one handing out a year's worth of creepy dolls."

"They weren't creepy! They're cute!"

"You and I have need to have a long talk on the definition of 'cute'."

Makoto sighed. "It's starting to look like we fixed the pool for nothing." He said despondently.

"Don't say that!" Nagisa said, shooting up from his position. He couldn't let his friends get discouraged now; not when they'd already done so much.

"Whatcha doing there, Haru-kun?" Byakuya asked curiously, diverting from the topic as she peered over the boy's shoulder. Makoto and Nagisa looked over as well, watching Haruka as he expertly carved out a wooden doll of Iwatobi-chan- the guy was really good with arts and crafts. Byakuya felt slightly perturbed by the amount of dedication Haruka was putting into the whole swim club ordeal. The others had commented on her change of attitude, but in her opinion, Haru had changed just as much. His change was even more surprising than hers, actually.

No wonder Nagisa had approached her about it. She was practically dying to know what was going on in Haru's head right now.

"It's time to use our last resort!" Nagisa suddenly declared, pumped up by Haruka's dedication. "We have Miss Ama-chan and Bya-kun give the shirts off their backs for us!"

"How so?" Makoto inquired.

"I'm not liking the way you put that, Nagi-kun." Byakuya said cautiously.

"We advertise the fact that Miss Ama-chan is our advisor and that Bya-kun is in the club... and tell everyone they'll get to see them in swimsuits if they join!" Nagisa proclaimed.

He received a well-aimed shoe to the face from a very red-faced Byakuya.

"I see. That's really giving up their shirts for us." Makoto deadpanned, his eye twitching slightly. He didn't like the notion of promoting eye candy to the male student population just so they'd join the swim club. Especially not when Byakuya was involved.

Damn. Haruka might have been on to something.

"Excuse me?"

They all froze. Miss Amakata stood in the doorway to the changing rooms, and she was surrounded by a malicious aura.

"If you do that, I'll quit immediately." She warned viciously, stalking up to the two boys. Byakuya smirked at Nagisa's discomfort, but felt a little bit sorry for Mako- he hadn't really done anything wrong.

"I swore to myself that I'd never put on a swimsuit again!" Miss Amakata continued angrily, before she reverted to a sweet smile. "Understood? Are we clear?"

"Crystal." The two boys peeped out fearfully. Byakuya would have laughed at their expressions, but she felt a darker memory resurface at Miss Amakata's words.

_"Don't worry, I swear I won't put on a swimsuit again."_

That was what her mother had said when she had started treatment for her illness. Mikasa had stopped eating and became so skinny she looked close to emaciated, and her energy reserves were also at an all time low during that time. She had smiled at her two children back then as they watched her throw away her swimwear.

_"Mom! What are you doing?" Aoi exclaimed in shock. Byakuya just stared in silence, not quite comprehending what was going on._

_"I'll spare those innocent people their sight, huh? No one wants to see a zombie in a swimsuit!" Their mother joked lightly, though her voice rang with a hint of bitterness._

A week after that, Byakuya had won another swimming competition. It was the first time she had raced without her mother there to cheer her on, and it was also the last time Byakuya had swam competitively- the emotional stress that had resulted from that had just been too much for the little girl to handle.

The Shion just exhaled slowly and focused her attention on Haruka's steady hands as he carved another wooden doll, pushing the memory to the back of her mind. No matter how much she was trying to change, it looked like she still wasn't quite strong enough yet to dwell upon anything that reminded her of her past for long without backing away. Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides- how could she get over this?

From the sidelines, Makoto shot her a worried look that she didn't catch.

* * *

><p>AN: Gods. Can I just say that writing about Rin kills me? I love the guy to death, really. Everytime he appears on screen even for a few seconds I just want to reach out and hug his pain away. You know that feel when you really want to be there for a fictional character just to comfort them, but you know you can't? Yeah. That's how I feel for Rin. (Looking at you too, Tetsuya Kuroko.) Also, double update because I'm feeling really pumped up to write! Further elaboration continues in the next chappy, because I don't wanna keep you guys waiting, haha! XD<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

Kou Matsuoka strolled over to where Makoto and Byakuya were painting the fence of the swimming pool, carrying a plastic bag with her. She had been stopping by the pool nearly every afternoon since the bunch of teens had started working to fix it up, doing her best to make things easier for them. Though she couldn't help much in the manual department, she was able to provide refreshments for them during their short breaks- ehich wwasexacly what she was doing now.

"I'll leave the juice over here." She stated casually as she set the bag down and squatted next to Makoto.

"Thanks." The two teens responded in unison. Makoto smiled gratefully at the girl, while Byakuya just nodded in acknowledgement. Kou didn't mind the older girl's somewhat stiff response- she had noticed that Byakuya often got very reserved around those she wasn't familiar with.

"...I don't get it though." Kou continued slowly, breaching the subject that had been bugging her for a while now.

"Get what?" Makoto asked curiously.

"Why didn't you guys start a swim club back when you were first-years?" The redhead asked.

"Haruka wasn't interested." Makoto answered simply.

"But why not? He's such a great swimmer!" Kou exclaimed.

Byakuya shut her eyes briefly at the question. That was one answer not even Makoto had a definite answer to.

"Haru joined the swim club in middle school, but quit at the end of our first year." Makoto responded wistfully.

"Did something happen?" Kou asked.

"No idea. He didn't want to talk about it. Our old swimming club closed down around the same time, and Haru hasn't done any competitive swimming since." Makoto elaborated, concern lacing his voice as he turned around to look at where Nagisa and Haruka were painting the inside of the pool. It was discomforting to not know something about his best friend since childhood, but Haru had never spoken about it.

"So he wanted to quit swimming." Kou concluded.

"Probably."

"I wonder if my brother's the same way." Kou said sullenly.

Byakuya froze.

"Huh?" Makoto exclaimed, just as surprised.

"I went looking for my brother the other day, and I found out he wasn't on the swim team. He transferred to _Samezuka Academy_, but he's not on their swim team." Kou replied despondently.

Byakuya exhaled slowly as she remembered her own meeting with Rin at the swim club. She had been far too lost in her own thoughts to observe the boy closely, and she regretted it. Upon hearing Kou's words, her regret only grew. It had been a rare opportunity to have had Rin alone... had she been too selfish? Should she have put aside her own worries for Rin?

Yes. Yes she should have. And now there was nothing she could do about it.

She wanted to hit something.

"No way!" Makoto exclaimed. "I mean, he just raced Haru and-"

"He must have lost." Kou said quietly. "That's why he's given up on swimming."

"No, that can't be." Makoto corrected, certainty evident in his voice. "I mean, when they raced that time..."

Byakuya grip on the paintbrush she was holding tightened as she recalled that night at Samezuka, her teeth clenching slightly. Her premonition had been right- it hadn't ended well.

* * *

><p>Haruka cut swiftly through the water of the pool with smooth, efficient stokes- he swam so fast one would never have guessed that he hadn't been swimming for years. In the lane next to him, Rin was swimming just as quickly through the water- though he wasn't quite as elegant as Haruka, he still had a major advantage with his strong legs, which propelled him through the water like lightning.<p>

"Haru's so good!" Makoto praised admiringly as he stood with Nagisa and Byakuya by the sidelines.

"Yep! He lost ground to Rin-chan on every turn, but he's nearly caught up now!" Nagisa added.

Byakuya simply remained silent. She watched the two carefully, though she had to admit she was rather impressed by Haru's capability as well. She had been out of practice for as long as he had, but he was still a heck of a lot better than she was. At the back of her mind, she acknowledged that she was pretty jealous of his skill.

"They're making the final turn!" Makoto exclaimed.

"Who got it first?" Nagisa asked excitedly.

"Too close to tell!" Makoto answered.

"...Haru." Byakuya muttered under her breath. She'd always been a lot better at observing than actually swimming. "But Rin has a stronger kick, so..."

"They're neck and neck!" Nagisa announced.

"No... Rin's legs put him ahead after the turn!" Makoto corrected worriedly as he noticed the Matsuoka boy pulling ahead. "Haru..."

"Rin-kun wins." Byakuya stated quietly. Just as she said that, Rin slammed his palm against the wall of the pool. Haru followed suit barely a second after.

"Haru!" "Haru-chan!" Makoto and Nagisa cried out as they ran to the edge of the pool. Byakuya stayed where she was, not daring to go closer. The bad feeling she had didn't go away, and she hesitated.

Rin yanked off his goggles and swimming cap, grinning victoriously as he slammed his fist in the water with glee. "YES!"

Haruka panted from the exertion as he emerged from the water and pushed his goggles down around his neck. Makoto and Nagisa had run up to him, but he didn't respond to them. Instead, he slowly looked up at Rin.

"You win." He stated simply. "That's great, Rin."

There was that look again. The same one Byakuya had seen in Haru's eyes when there hadn't been any water in the pool at the old swim club. Hopefulness, longing, relief. It was all there again.

Rin seemed shocked at the declaration, and he stared at Haruka in silence for a moment, disbelief written clearly across his face.

"That's... great?" He repeated lowly.

In a sudden movement, he yanked Haruka forth by the goggles the boy had around his neck, glaring ferociously at the raven-haired teen who simply gazed back blankly. Byakuya let out a shout of surprise and stepped forth at the threatening action, but it was right then that a teacher burst through the doors of the indoor pool.

"What's going on here?" He demanded upon seeing the scene before him. "Matsuoka! Who are these other students?"

Rin scowled at the teacher and glared at Haru for another long moment before grudgingly releasing the boy. He "tch"ed in annoyance at the interruption, before lifting himself out of the pool.

"They broke in. I challenged one of them to a race." He said simply.

"What were you thinking, Matsuoka?!" The teacher yelled. "It's against school rules to be out after curfew, let alone using the pool! I could have you suspended for this!"

"Whatever." The boy replied curtly, hefting his clothes over his shoulder. He walked straight towards the exit, ignoring all of them as he did so. Byakuya was stunned- he had won, hadn't he? Wasn't that what he'd wanted? Why was he...

"Oi! Come back here!" The teacher called out, but Rin just ignored him and kept walking. The teacher seemed indignant and looked like he wanted to pursue the Samezuka student, but then changed his mind and refocused on the outsiders before him.

"You four. Come with me this instant." He demanded. They nodded meekly and followed after the teacher. Haruka was still dripping wet, but he didn't seem to care. He just kept on walking with a blank expression on his face.

Byakuya was silent throughout the whole ordeal, not even making a single rude or snarky comment as they were lectured by the teacher. All she could think of was the look in Rin's eyes as he'd walked past her on his way out.

It looked scarily like the reflection she'd seen in the mirror after her mom's death. Angry. Confused.

And empty.

* * *

><p>"What?!" My brother won?" Kou exclaimed in shock, bringing Byakuya out of her thoughts. She loosened her hold on the brush and flexed her fingers- her hand hurt from clenching it too tightly.<p>

"Yeah. Didn't Rin tell you?" Makoto asked, perplexed.

"He didn't respond, so I thought he was upset about losing." Kou admitted.

"He didn't seem very happy about winning, either." Makoto commented thoughtfully and placed a hand on his chin in contemplation. "In fact, I'd say Haru was more happy with it than Rin was. He even congratulated Rin."

"What happened after that?" Kou persisted.

"Rin got pretty upset, but before he could do anything more, that was when we were found by a teacher who'd heard all the noise." Makoto finished.

"I don't get why Haruka-senpai would say that after losing." Kou mused.

Makoto smiled knowingly as he glanced back at his best friend. "Haru just wanted to swim. He's back to his old self now. Haru was never one to care about winning or improving his time."

"... Will my brother also go back to his old self?" Kou asked quietly. She recalled the days of when her brother had been the smiley, happy boy he used to be. He'd cared for her, played with her, protected her, held her hand as they crossed the street... She didn't want this cold, distant stranger. She wanted her brother back.

The girl clenched her fist tightly. "You guys... still need one more member, right?" She asked suddenly.

"Yes. That's right." Makoto replied.

"Please let me join!" She exclaimed, shocking Makoto for a moment. She just smiled sheepishly at her sudden action, but the look in her eyes was determined and unwavering. "...You guys are the only ones who can change my brother. If you're willing to have me, I can serve as your manager and help you out!"

Makoto still seemed taken aback at Kou's volunteer, but before he could respond, Nagisa called out from the pool.

"Ooh, ooh! What's going on?"

"Kou-chan offered to join the swim club! " Makoto yelled back.

"What? Really? That's great!" Nagisa cheered. "That means the swim club is officially open for business! Yay!"

"I think we better save the celebration until we get the pool finished, Nagi-kun. It ain't a swim club until we're actually able to swim!" Byakuya called back, smiling. She was glad to have enough members for the swim club now, but she wasn't exactly used to the company of other people besides her regular circle of friends. She could be rather socially inept with new people, but she'd just have to suck it up.

She ran a hand through her hair and exhaled loudly. No one said change would be easy.

Next to the cheery Nagisa, Haruka was still painting the walls of the pool. No one saw it, but Haruka allowed himself to break out into a small smile.

* * *

><p>Byakuya stood at the train station, casually waiting for the next train that would take her to the stop she wanted to go to. It was late evening, and she had already stopped by her house to clean herself up and eat after the day of pool-cleaning. Despite her initial plans to never get philosophical again, she'd had a lot to think about recently, and each time she found herself going back to the old swim club. She didn't know why, but somehow the place which had originally made her feel uneasy and cornered had become a place of solace for her. Going there was a routine she was starting to get used to. It made her feel stronger for some reason- like if she could get used to this place, she could adapt to any other change as well. She certainly hoped she could.<p>

As she idly scrolled through her phone, she registered the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs leading up to the waiting platform. However, the footsteps stopped suddenly, and she heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Byaku-chan?"

Byakuya froze immediately and gulped. She'd recognize that voice anywhere- and it wasn't someone she particularly wanted to see at the moment. The dark-haired girl slowly turned around, attempting a strained, nervous chuckle.

Standing before her was the tall figure of Makoto Tachibana.

She was so dead.

"What are you doing out so late?" He asked curiously, though there was a stern undertone to his voice.

"Um, I could ask you the same thing?" She replied weakly.

"I was going to go visit the old swim club. I heard they were tearing it down." The boy responded. Byakuya jumped.

"Wh-what? They are?"

"That's not important now, Byaku-chan. Why are you here?" He asked again.

"Eheh, well, you see Mako, I sorta, uh, have an errand to run...?"

Makoto obviously didn't believe her crappy lie for one second. Dangit. She couldn't weasel out of this one.

"Okay, fine... I've been going to the old swim club recently. Nearly every day, actually."

"What?"

Byakuya squirmed and cast her eyes to the ground upon Makoto's exclamation. She didn't want to see the look that she was sure Makoto was giving her. Shocked, reprimanding, disappointed... it would make her feel even more guilty than she already did.

"I know. I shouldn't be out this late by myself, I'm sorry. It's just..." she trailed off. She didn't know how to explain herself. Could she just say "Oh I've been having a teen-life crisis that's giving me total reconsideration of my life and my ways and I have to go into old abandoned buildings to think them out because it feels more like home there than my own house does"?

Nah. She didn't think so. She'd already dumped enough of her troubles on Mako; he didn't need more to worry about.

Makoto sighed. "Didn't you say the place made you uncomfortable? Why have you been visiting it so regularly if that was the case?"

"I guess I got over it." She shrugged.

"Why didn't you tell me? You've risked getting yourself caught again for trespassing, and you know what could happen to a girl who's out at night on her own." Makoto insisted.

"I know! I know! But please, Mako. I just have a lot to think about recently, that's all. Don't worry about it."

"That only makes me worry more."

But before he could pursue the topic, the train they had been waiting for came around the bend, and Byakuya quickly jumped on the oppurtunity to direct the attention away from her.

"Oh look! The train's here! We better get on then!" She announced quickly, dashing away before Makoto could stop her. The boy just stared after her for a moment, before he sighed.

Really. Women.

* * *

><p>The train ride had proceeded in relative silence, with neither one of the two teens finding anything to say. Byakuya had simply plugged in her earphones when she got on the train, eager not to talk to Makoto or let him guilt her into telling him. The Tachibana boy- lenient as always- grudgingly let it slide.<p>

For now.

When they arrived at the old swim club, they saw that it had already been partially torn down- one whole block was completely demolished. Several bulldozers and the excavators were left in the area; the demolishing was probably gonna continue tomorrow.

"Ah. Looks like you were right." Byakuya commented. She was trying to sound casual, but Makoto could hear the sadness underlining her voice. He didn't blame her; he was feeling pretty down himself at the moment.

They just gazed silently at the old building for a long time, not uttering a single word. So many precious memories had been made here- all of them had met at this exact place. To see it getting torn down... it just showed how much time had passed since those days, how much had changed.

Byakuya felt her heart sink into her stomach. She couldn't help but think of the bitter irony the demolishing of the old swim club held. Just as she was starting to get used to coming here, it got torn down just like that. It was a cold reminder just how easily her comfort zone could fall apart- another reason for her to learn to stand on her own two feet without relying so heavily on the false peace that monotony brought her.

"It hurts, eh? It's not easy to watch as your memories get destroyed." A new voice commented sadly, snapping the two teens' attentions away from the structure. A man with short, stylish blonde hair and a goatee had spoken, though he, too, stared at the building wistfully. He was wearing a red helmet and a uniform that suggested he worked as a pizza delivery man- the vehicle he had just exited proved the theory.

"Were you kids a part of this club?" The man continued, oblivious to the confused looks the two teens were shooting him. Who was this guy? "Well, you can't go against the times. It's sad."

Suddenly, Makoto gasped in realization, recalling something- or rather, someone- from his swim club days. "W-wait, are you... Coach Sasabe?"

"Huh?" The man responded.

"Wait, you mean that coach my brother pulled a prank on by putting itching powder in his swimsuit?" Byakuya asked.

"One of the kids did that?"

"Uh, I mean..."

"It's me, Makoto! Makoto Tachibana!" The emerald-eyed boy interrupted exuberantly, stepping closer to the man.

With a start, Goro Sasabe's memory kicked in, and he grinned at the boy standing before him. "Oh! It's you! You've grown real big, Makoto! It's been too long!"

"Ah, that's right. We haven't seen you in years." Makoto greeted politely, before he gestured to Byakuya. "You remember Byaku-chan too, right?"

"Ah, that's right... Mikasa's kid, right?" Coach Sasabe asked in confirmation, earning a nod and a small smile from the Shion. "Hm, you've grown into quite the lovely young lady, Byakuya. Just like your mother. I suppose you two are dating now, hm? You're quite the lucky fel-"

"We're not dating!" Both Makoto and Byakuya exclaimed in unison.

"Heh, sure you kids aren't. Really, there's no need to hide these kind of things from me; young love is a beautiful thing. Why, I remember my first-"

"What are you doing now, Coach? Y'know, since the club shut down?" Byakuya cut in immediately. She was starting to feel very awkward with where the conversation was heading.

And why did everyone assume she and Makoto were together?

"Ah. Good question." Goro responded, successfully diverting from the topic. "Well, I work part-time as a pizza delivery man now." He elaborated, patting his white vehicle. "Did you two come here for one last glimpse?"

"Is that why you're here?" Makoto inquired.

"Just thought I'd stop by after a delivery. How are the other boys doing?"

"They're fine. We go to the same school as Haru and Nagisa." Makoto replied.

"Are you all and Rin still friends?"

Byakuya stiffened. That was a question she wasn't quite sure of the answer to. Makoto paused slightly at the question himself, but didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes. He goes to a different school though."

"Rin's back from Australia, right? " Goro continued. "He looked pretty glum when I last saw him, so I was a little worried."

"You saw Rin?" Byakuya exclaimed.

"Glum?" Makoto added.

"Haru didn't tell you?" Coach Sasabe looked surprised.

Makoto and Byakuya were shell-shocked. What was he talking about?

"I think it was during the winter of your first year of middle school." The old coach mused. "I was closing down the place for the end of the year when Haruka and Rin showed up. Apparently, they had run into each other when Rin was back home."

"Did they have a race?" Makoto asked immediately.

"That's right. And Haruka won easily."

Byakuya gulped at that statement. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"Rin was pretty upset about it. Can't blame him." The coach continued solemnly. "He went to a swimming school abroad, and it didn't make a difference."

Makoto and Byakuya were silent, and the coach asked worriedly, "Is something wrong?"

"No..." Makoto responded quietly.

_'Oh no.'_ Byakuya thought to herself, placing her hand over her mouth. That explained it- it explained everything. Haru, Rin... She felt sick. All those ill thoughts she'd had towards Rin... they were all so misplaced. Rin was hurt. Her friend was _hurt_. And Haruka... he felt guilty- _was _guilty.

_'Haru... why didn't you tell us?'_

* * *

><p>Makoto leaned on the steel railing which ran along the road path leading down the hill, his expression distant. He had considered taking the train back the same way he'd came, but both he and Byakuya had agreed that they could use a walk to somehow relieve the shock of the whole revelation they had uncovered after their meeting with their old coach. They both gazed out over the cliff at the scenery of the Iwatobi ocean at night- it was quite the sight. With the light of the moon reflecting on the surface of the ocean as the waves moved slowly against the shores... it was stunning.<p>

"It's a beautiful world, isn't it?" Byakuya commented, leaning her head agaist Makoto's shoulder. It was a soothing sight to behold after the stress of everything that had happened, and it helped her to take her mind off the issues at hand.

"...Yeah. It is." Makoto agreed nonchalantly, trying to ignore the sudden acceleration of his heartbeat at Byakuya's physical contact.

"And yet... there's so many things to worry about. So much danger, sadness, despair... it's easy to forget just how beautiful the world can be." She continued, her voice laced with sorrow. "...Do you think Rin-kun still sees the world like he used to?"

Makoto glanced down at his long-time companion. She looked tired- and afraid. It reminded him of that time she had slept in his bed after her mother's funeral, when she'd refused to cry over her mother's passing. He wanted to assure her that everything would be okay, but how could he guarantee that when he himself didn't know where they were heading? The future was uncertain; not set in stone... he didn't want to make a promise he might not be able to keep.

So instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his cellphone, and dialled a number. Byakuya gave him a curious look, but he just smiled reassuringly as he waited for someone to pick up. When no one did so and the intercept message came on, he decided to leave a voice mail.

"Rin? It's me, Makoto." He greeted cheerfully. "We're starting up a swim club. So, you should join the swim team; we might get to swim together at tournaments! It'll be like old times, remember?" A small chuckle- he might as well imagine that Rin was actually answering him. "Yeah, well... that's all I wanted to say. If you ever want to talk, feel free to call me back, okay? See ya, Rin."

As Makoto hung up and placed his phone back in his pocket, Byakuya laughed quietly.

"You... you really know how to make me feel better, Mako. Even when I don't say anything... thank you." She thanked honestly.

"It's nothing, Byaku-chan. I did it for all of us." He said responded, chuckling warmly aswell. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly lifted his arm and placed it around Byakuya's shoulders. Much to his relief, the girl didn't freeze up or shy away- in fact, she actually shuffled closer.

Byakuya just gave a small smile as she shut her eyes briefly, listening to the sound of the waves as they crashed against the shore. It was nice being held like this- Makoto's embrace felt warm and welcome...it felt like home.

The thought she'd had earlier that week came back to her- the one she'd had when she and Haruka had been scrubbing out the pool.

Maybe... maybe it wouldn't be_ too_ bad to like Makoto in that way. Not that she did, of course.

The two friends just stayed that way for a long time in silence, gazing at the nighttime scenery and enjoying that brief moment of peace in their hectic lives.

* * *

><p>On the other side of town, Rin Matsuoka lay awake in his bed as he listened to Makoto's message.<p>

"I didn't need you to tell me that." He grumbled out to no one in particular. "I already decided to join the swim team. However..."

Here, he opened up his ruby eyes and gazed up at the ceiling.

"I'm not doing it for a chance to swim with you guys again."

No. He wasn't that same little kid anymore.

He was going to beat Haruka. And he was going to achieve his dream.

* * *

><p>By the following week, the pool of the Iwatobi High School was finally finished and had been filled with water. Byakuya had to admit; it was quite a beaut. She felt a swell of pride at the result of her and her friends' hard work.<p>

"Okay!" Miss Amakata announced as all the members of the swim club gathered by the newly finished pool. "Here's to the establishment of the new swim club!"

"Cheers!" They all announced at the same time, bringing their plastic cups together.

"It's not warm enough to start swimming, but we filled the pool as a test run." Miss Amakata commented as she twirled her umbrella. "All that's left is to toss these in!" She informed as she held out a packet of chlorine tablets.

"Ooh, let's all take one and throw em in at the same time!" Nagisa suggested enthusiastically.

"Y'know, now that I think about it, these things look like drugs too." Byakuya commented idly.

"Really, again, Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked.

"What can I say- I know my stuff."

"C'mon you guys! Let's all take one!" Kou said cheerfully, handing the packet around to everyone. After that, they all took different positions around the pool and, on Miss Amakata's signal, threw the tablets in.

"There!" Nagisa announced. "The swim club is finally ready to go!"

"Well, we still can't get in the pool ye-"

But Makoto was cut off by a shriek from Kou and Miss Amakata. They all turned around to witness Haruka stripping off his uniform and revealing his swimming trunks. Again.

"Wait! Haru!" Makoto cried out. "You were wearing your swimsuit again?"

"One day I'm gonna glue those clothes onto that boy if it'll stop his impulsive stripping." Byakuya added.

"I can't get enough of those triceps!" Kou squealed.

"What? Triceps?" Makoto asked confusedly before Haruka splashed into the pool.

"Haru! It's still too cold right now!" Makoto cried, but he was completely ignored.

"Too late. He's in Haruland again." Byakuya commented as the boy floated on his back in the water, a serene expression on his face.

"I don't see the problem." Nagisa commented, stretching as he did so. "He looks comfortable enough."

"True... No, wait! His lips are turning purple!" Kou exclaimed.

"Get out of the water before you catch a cold!" Makoto cried. But once again, Haru just ignored everyone and dived under.

"Go, Haru-chan!" Nagisa cheered.

"No! He can't!" Makoto panicked.

"I'll go find a net!" Kou suggested.

"Huh? A net?"

"Nah that won't work. You should go find some mackerel instead."

"Mackerel?!"

"What? We can lure him in."

"It's settled then! I'll go find some mackerel!"

"No! Wait! Haru-"

The boy just kept on swimming.

That was the start of the new Iwatobi Swim Club- the start of their new adventure as a team. And quite an adventure it would be.

* * *

><p>AN: Episode 2- end! Whew, long chapter, that was sorta tough to write. I don't know how authors who write original plots are able to write this long andor longer. Really salute them, that takes boatloads of creativity.

Anyhoo, to continue where my last AN stopped, I'd like to give loads of cyber cookies to Mama-Child09 and batgirl94 for faving this story, bloodplus103 for adding this story to your favourites and alerts, and Shizuka Kitsune for doing all of the above as well as adding my profile to your favourites! I just...wow. I didn't really expect so much response for this fic; let alone think I was good enough to get on any faved authors list. Thank you all so much! The same goes to everyone else who has reviewed, favorited and/or followed this story (If you're reading this, NotSauron, you're always gonna be special for being my very first reviewer, haha!), thank you all so very, very much! It's really thanks to you guys that I continue updating this fic, your responses-in any form- all mean very much to me! This double update goes out to all of you!

See you next water time!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Byaku-nee! Ren took my doll again!"

"No I didn't! Don't believe her, onee-chan! She's trying to get me in trouble again!"

"You're just mad because I broke your stupid action figure!"

"Optimus Prime is not stupid!"

"BYAKU-NEE!" The Tachibana twins both shouted at the same time, demanding the older girls' attention.

Byakuya wanted to jump off a cliff. For the third time that morning.

She was stuck babysitting the twins that Sunday, since Makoto had gone to Haru's and no one was at home to take care of the kids. Haruka- the idiot- had gotten sick after his little dip in the pool yesterday, though he wouldn't admit it. As for Mr and Mrs Tachibana, they had to go out to handle some business that day, and so it was up to Byakuya to handle the two rascals.

She loved the twins, she really did, but did they have to be so damn hyper all the time?

"Alright, calm down you two... okay, Ran, are you sure that Ren took your doll?" She asked, trying to keep herself calm.

"I didn't-" Ren started to protest, but was silenced by a raised hand from Byakuya.

"Ren. I was talking to your sister. Just let me finish, okay?" When the boy nodded grudgingly, she continued. "Ran?"

"Positive! I broke his toy yesterday by accident, so now he took Mira-chan as revenge!" Ran stated heatedly.

"Why would I take your dumb doll?!"

"Don't call Mira-chan dumb!"

"You called Optimus stupid!"

"That's cuz he is!"

"Now, wait, wait, you two." Byakuya interrupted seriously, regaining the twins' attention. "Ran, did you actually see your brother take Mira-chan?"

The girl paused for a moment, then sheepishly shook her head.

"Ren, you promise you didn't take your sister's doll?"

"I swear it!"

"Right. Ran, when did you last see Mira-chan?"

"This morning! I left her on my bed before breakfast, and now she's gone!"

"Who was in charge of making the beds this morning?"

"Mako-nii." They responded in unison.

"Doesn't Makoto like putting things away in the closet when he cleans?"

The twins didn't move for a moment. Then, they suddenly turned and ran up the stairs to their shared bedroom. Byakuya slowly followed after them and could hear the door slamming open as Ran ravaged the cupboard. Soon, she heard Ran's triumphant shout and reached the room in time to see the girl hugging her doll close to her chest.

"Now, Ran, what do you say to your brother?" Byakuya raised a brow reprimandingly as she stood in the doorway of the room.

Ran turned red and shuffled her feet, unable to look her brother in the eye.

"Sorry, Ren." She said softly.

"I told you I didn't do it." Her brother responded smugly.

"Ren..." Byakuya warned sternly.

The boy pouted and seemed reluctant that he was unable to gloat, but complied. "Oh fine. It's okay, Ran... Just don't ever call Optimus stupid ever again."

"But Bumblebee is so much better!" The girl cried out.

"No he isn't!"

"Yes he is!"

"No he's not!"

"He is!"

"He isn't!"

"BYAKU-NEE!" They shouted, turning towards the teen again.

Byakuya rubbed the sides of her temple in irritation, trying to figure out a way to solve this fairly. As hard as she was trying to do things without complaint, this was testing her patience. Dammit, she wouldn't have to be doing this by herself if Haru hadn't gone swimming in the cold.

"Damn you, Haruka Nanase. I hope you're having a horrible day." She cursed under her breath.

* * *

><p>On another side of the neighbourhood, Haruka sneezed loudly.<p>

"Wow, that one was a strong one." Nagisa commented.

"Haru, you feeling okay?" Makoto asked.

"My late grandma used to say that you sneeze when someone else is talking about you." Haruka sniffed.

"Here." Makoto offered, handing the boy some tissue, which Haruka gratefully accepted.

"Oh? Then it must be Rin-chan!" Nagisa enthused.

"...No, I think he's just sick." Makoto corrected. "It's because you were swimming in the pool in April."

"I'm not a baby who gets sick from swimm-" but before he could finish his protest, the raven-haired boy was cut off by another sneeze, this one violent enough to rattle the cups on the table.

"It's too early to be swimming in outdoor pools. We just have to work out until it gets warmer." Makoto commented idly.

"Oh yeah!" Nagisa suddenly exclaimed. "I heard from Gou-chan that Rin-chan joined the Samezuka swim team!"

Haruka paused at this information. So he had, had he?

"Huh?" Makoto exclaimed.

"Something wrong Mako-chan?" Nagisa asked curiously.

Makoto gave a secretive smile as he recalled the other day when he had left that voice mail for Rin. He was actually hoping that he had played some small part in the boy's participation in the swim team, but he couldn't be totally sure.

"No... it's nothing. But this means we might run into him in a tournament. " Makoto continued.

"Yeah! We should enter tournaments! Then we can participate in relays again." The blonde proclaimed enthusiastically.

"I only swim freestyle. " Haruka replied simply. This was starting to sound somewhat familiar...

"Does that mean you can't swim in relays?" Nagisa asked cheekily.

Silence.

"Don't say that!" Nagisa implored.

Still no response.

"Come onnnnn..." Nagisa despaired.

"Besides," Haruka finally commented. "We can't swim a relay with only 3 people."

"That's true..." Nagisa mused thoughtfully. "That means..."

"WE NEED TO FIND ANOTHER MEMBER?!" He suddenly cried out as he shot up, hands pulling at his blonde locks. He remembered all too well the horrible failure of a recruitment session he had to go through. Just when he thought he would never have to experience such a depressing thing again, this bombshell got dumped on him.

"Ohh man... how are we gonna do this?" Nagisa groaned.

"Well, you and Byaku-chan could just go and do whatever you guys did the last time you tried to get more members." Makoto suggested.

"But Bya-kun sucks at recruiting! She's even worse at that than she is at History!" The underclassman whined.

Back in the Tachibana household, Byakuya sneezed.

"Must be getting sick." She sniffed.

* * *

><p>Nagisa sat despondently on the train that day in his way to school, still trying to figure out how to get a new member in the swim club. He knew it was going to be really tough, but he wanted to do this; to swim in a relay again. And when Nagisa Hazuki wanted something, his persistence made sure he almost always got it.<p>

'_But it'll be hard to find a new member now- I was turned down by everyone the last time I asked_.' The boy mused to himself.

Suddenly, a small movement caught his attention. Curious, he glanced up and saw a familiar glasses-wearing bluenette reading a small book which was entitled "Physical Training".

"Ryugazaki-kun?" Nagisa asked, surprised. He hadn't even noticed his classmate standing there. "You go to school by train?"

Ryugazaki simply spared him a brief glance before returning his attention to his book. "Yes." He said curtly.

Nagisa ignored the boy's stand-offish attitude- which was easy to do since he dealt with a similar thing from Haruka- and continued smiling at the boy.

"Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask you a favour as a classmate..."

"I won't join the swim club." The boy cut off the blonde in the middle of his sentence.

"Huh? How did you know before I said anything?" Nagisa exclaimed, surprised.

"It was easy enough to guess." The bluenette responded calmly, gesturing to the bag at Nagisa's feet. "Considering the recruitment posters in your bag and those swimsuit Iwatobi-chan straps you probably plan to give to new recruits."

Nagisa was awed by his classmate's observant nature. But then again, Ryugazaki always did seem like the intellectual type.

"As I mentioned before," Rei pushed up his glasses as the train slowed down at the next stop. "I have already joined the track team. Goodbye." The boy then stepped off the train.

"Huh? Why? The school is at the next station!" Nagisa exclaimed. But the bespectacled boy simply continued on his way, leaving Nagisa blinking in confusion for a moment.

...

"Wow!" The blonde exclaimed enthusiastically as he pressed his face up against the glass of the carriage he was sitting in. The students seated next to him were shuffling away awkwardly at the boy's excitement, but Nagisa didn't seem to care. "He runs the last stretch everyday!"

The boy was watching his classmate as he kept pace with the train as he went on his way to school. It was a most impressive feat- almost like Superman, really- and Nagisa admired Rei's determination; not many students were that dedicated.

Now he _really_ wanted Ryugazaki on the swim team.

* * *

><p>Haruka sniffed as he crouched by the edge of the pool, rubbing at his itchy nose. He gazed at the pool like a lost puppy, staring at it with great longing in his ocean-blue eyes.<p>

"I want to swim already..."

Just as he said that, Byakuya walked by, carrying the net she had been using to scoop out the fallen leaves from the pool.

"If you ever get sick and leave me to deal with the twins alone again, Haru-kun..." she sang with a sweet smile and equally sweet voice, though it was underlined with a dangerous tone. "I will make you pay. Painfully."

Haruka didn't let his facial expression change upon hearing the clear threat, but he found it rather difficult to swallow.

It looked like he might have been right about someone talking about him yesterday.

* * *

><p>"Wow! We can swim here in the off-season? Awesome!" Nagisa enthused as he leaned closer to look at the advertisement Kou was showing them. Next to him, Makoto was just as enthusiastic. The advertisement depicted a sports gym which was equipped with an indoor swimming pool- just what they needed.<p>

"Isn't it?" Kou said cheerily. She was glad to be of assistance to the swim club- she was pretty pumped up about being manager. "I was thinking schools like us without indoor pools require facilities like these."

"Way to go, Gou-chan!" Nagisa cheered. "Our super manager!"

"You're supposed to call me Kou!" The girl reprimanded insistently, though she was happy at the compliment.

"No point arguing it, Kou-san. Once Nagi-kun settles on a name, he doesn't let it go."

Kou started as she noticed that the other two upperclassmen from outside had walked back in as well.

"Haruka-senpai. Byakuya-senpai." She greeted.

Byakuya gave a small smile at the girl while Haruka simply reached out and took hold of the piece of paper in Kou's hands. He looked it over briefly.

"How do we pay for it?" He asked immediately.

"With our club budget of course!" Kou replied.

"Ah! I see." Nagisa nodded.

"We have a club budget?" Byakuya asked confusedly.

...Yeah, there was that look from everyone again. She really needed to stop asking stupid questions.

"...I don't really know how these club thingies work." She admitted sheepishly.

When Byakuya had said that she had stopped caring about things, she'd meant it literally. She hadn't bothered to know about little things like these, but she was trying to now. Makoto simply smiled sympathetically.

"The gym is pretty expensive to join." The olive-haired boy commented, returning back to the topic at hand. "If our club budget will really cover that..."

Here he gave a sidelong glance at Haruka. He knew the boy was eager to swim again, and he would be more than happy to be able to do so now.

"This is the real reason we started a swim club." Makoto stated, mimicking Haru's voice. "That's probably what you're thinking, right?" He asked cheekily.

Haruka gave him an annoyed look and turned his face away. "Shut up." He muttered. Sometimes having a best friend who could practically read your thoughts was embarassing.

"This means we can swim all year round!" Nagisa cried happily. Looks like things wwerefinally looking up for their swim club...

* * *

><p>"Sorry. That's not happening." Miss Amakata said apologetically.<p>

"What? Why?" Nagisa groaned.

"The school isn't going to give that much money to a brand new club with no accomplishments." The teacher explained.

"But how are we supposed to achieve any 'accomplishments' without the proper training?" Byakuya pointed out.

"There is an aphorism from the Bible," Miss Amakata stated wisely. "'He who does not work, neither shall he eat.'"

"...But I'm not hungry." Byakuya deadpanned, somewhat confused. She sucked when it came to understanding metaphors.

"I don't think you're using that properly." Makoto corrected the teacher hesitantly. Well, if he said so, then he was probably right. The boy was a genius at Literature. It was only thanks to his tutelage that Byakuya had even passed that subject- barely, but a pass nonetheless.

"You can't eat a pool." Nagisa complained. Apparently Literature wasn't his best subject either.

"So we'll get the money if we deliver accomplishments?" Kou interjected before they could get too far off topic.

"I suppose. That's the best way to secure lots of money for your club." Miss Amakata confirmed.

"Accomplishments..." Haruka murmured. That was something he hadn't gotten in a while for his swimming.

"So, what if we can place in a summer tournament?" Makoto asked hopefully.

"Your request might be approved at the second term budget meeting." Miss Amakata replied. "But you'll need at least 4 swimmers to bolster your case. 5 would be better, though..."

"Let's try for five." Byakuya suggested. "It would definitely help out if we had more achievements, so let's go with that."

"That's right! We could definitely use more members!" Nagisa supported. To be honest, he didn't just want more members for the club's sake; he was serious about wanting to participate in another relay with his friends, and this was the perfect oppurtunity.

"...And then I can swim all I want!" Haru's voice suddenly whispered intensely.

"Did you say something?" Makoto turned around and asked his best friend.

Haruka made no response, instead he stormed right out of the faculty office, leaving everyone stunned.

"Haru-chan seems really motivated now!" Nagisa observed cheerily.

"...Oh good lord." Byakuya sighed and trudged after the boy, followed by Makoto and Nagisa.

They came out just in time to witness Haru step up to two other students standing in the hallway.

"Oh, he stopped." Nagisa commented.

"Hey, you." Haruka called out seriously, gaining the attention of the two boys, who backed away nervously at the sight of Haru's intense gaze. He ignored their reactions, however, and instead held up one of the Iwatobi-chan straps he had been carrying around.

"I'll give you this. So join the swim club." He said plainly.

The students just stared at him for a while before giving a simple "No thanks." and walked off.

"Ouch." Nagisa blinked.

"It's hopeless. That's the best Haru can manage." Makoto sighed.

"Wow. And I thought I sucked at recruiting." Byakuya deadpanned.

"Don't be so mean, Bya-kun!" Nagisa exclaimed. "Haru-chan, don't let it get to you!"

"It's true though." the girl muttered under her breath.

Unfortunately, Nagisa heard her.

She spent the next hour nursing her injured foot again.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm aware that Ran refers to herself in third-person, but I figured that it would have been a bit confusing if I used her speech pattern in writing. So... yeahh. I can't wait to write Rei, that boy is too fabulous for his own good. That butterfly's the hero of the story, yo. And I sorta deviated from the original plot where they didn't recommend a fifth swimmer, but I added that change to fit in with the canon story as well as an original occurence later on... you'll see soon enough ;)<p>

Many thanks to introvertedHermit for following this story! I hope I can keep up your interest in this fic!

See ya'll next chapter!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Nagi-kun. I have to study for a History exam." Byakuya grumbled as the boy yanked on her arm.

"Oh stop complaining, Bya-kun! You've always been fine with flunking!" Nagisa stated.

"...I'm offended that you assume that I always fail my History tests."

"That's because you do!"

"Shut up."

"Uhm, Nagisa, why did you come and get us, again?" Makoto interrupted the two before they could continue. Nagisa had gathered all the members of the swim club together and was leading them somewhere, excitedly pulling on Haruka and Byakuya's arms as the two unenthusiastic teens grudgingly let the boy do so.

"C'mon! This way!" The blonde continued as he lead them all out towards the school track field.

"What is it?" Haruka said in irritation.

"I found the perfect person!" Nagisa enthused.

"From the track team?" Kou asked doubtfully.

"He can't join us then." Makoto sighed, disappointed.

"Look!" Nagisa suddenly exclaimed, ignoring his friends' protests. "There he is!"

They all looked in the direction Nagisa was pointing, eyes landing on a fairly muscular bluenette wearing protective goggles over his eyes. He was dressed in a normal track uniform and was stretching his arms in preparation for his turn on the field.

"It's his fate!" Nagisa continued enthusiastically.

"Ryugazaki-san? That's who you're trying to recruit?" Byakuya raised a brow. She had met the kid once when her Biology teacher had introduced them, since they were the highest scoring of their years at the subject. He seemed like the serious, stiff kind- not the sort of person she normally socialized with; though Haru sort of fit that criteria.

"You know him too, Bya-kun? That's great! It'll be easier for us to get along then!"

"Was he on the swim team in middle school?" Haruka asked.

"Does he hold a record?" Kou added.

"It's his name!" Nagisa answered. The others were all confused.

"His name?" Makoto inquired.

"It's Rei Ryugazaki-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed exuberantly. "He's the same as us; a boy with a girly name!"

"That's your reason?" Kou exclaimed. Now she was startled; Nagisa had dragged them all here just because the guy had a girl's name? Not because of his swimming abilities, or experience, but his name?

"Yep!"

Kou sighed, but observed the bluenette closely. "Though, I have to agree... look at those deltoids!" Her eyes sparkled at the sight of the boy's muscular arms.

"That's your reason?!" Makoto blanched at the girl's statement. "You really think those are good enough reasons?"

"My reason is very good!" Kou defended.

"... Do all girls react this way when they see men's bodies?" Byakuya mused.

As they all bickered lightly over the issue, they failed to notice that Rei was starting his turn on the field. It was Haruka that called their attention to that fact.

"Hey. It looks like he's about to jump." He pointed out calmly. Everyone immediately turned back to the Ryugazaki boy.

Byakuya watched him closely. He was balancing the pole in his grip, and readied himself for the pole vault. She saw his lips moving slightly as he muttered something to himself; though she had no clue what it was he could have been whispering. He soon started jogging towards the bar, slowly accelerating to increase the amount of energy he'd be able to put into the jump. He kept his body upright as he ran, gradually lowering the pole he was holding as he neared the landing pit. When the pole hit the pit, Rei launched into the air, his feet straight up. At his maximum height, he twisted his body gracefully, successfully dodging the pole. He made it look so effortless and smooth, like a well-oiled machine. They all watched in awe as he let himself fall back onto the landing mat.

Hell, he made falling look good.

Byakuya's eyes widened. "Well. Shit." She muttered. Suddenly the first-year academic genius was a heck of a lot more intriguing.

"His form was beautiful." Makoto commented, impressed. "He's probably a great diver."

Even Haruka gave a nod of agreement. Rei had definitely gotten his appraisal; not many could pull off a jump like that so gracefully.

"Absolutely!" Kou squealed. "And his biceps are also beautiful!"

"Is that all you care about?" Makoto exclaimed.

"Don't try to understand, Mako. It's a girl thing." Byakuya commented.

Nagisa just stared on in amazement, ignoring the conversation going on. Ryugazaki had way exceeded his expectations- he was absolutely stumped.

Oh yeah. He was getting Rei on the swim team, no matter what it took.

* * *

><p>"Well, now that that's over and done with... I think it's about time to head back." Byakuya sighed. "Mr Hasegawa's gonna throw either himself or me out of the window if I flunk another test."<p>

"You can't possibly be that bad. I mean, you're pretty good with Science and English." Kou said, tilting her head curiously. She knew that much about the Shion girl- back in grade school she'd given Rin the answers to his Science test while in exchange he'd helped her cheat in her Maths test. Both their moms had blown their tops when they found out.

"That's cuz those are easy. And interesting." Byakuya grumbled.

"Easy for you to say." Haruka muttered. English was his worst subject.

"Eheh. Sorry 'bout that, I forgot..." Byakuya laughed sheepishly.

"Well, anyway." Makoto said. "Since you and Haru are coming over to my place to study, you two can stay for dinner if you wa-"

"That's it!" Nagisa suddenly exclaimed, cutting Makoto off in the middle of his sentence. "Bya-kun! You know Rei-chan, right? You can help me convince him to join the swim club!"

"What?" Byakuya asked confusedly.

"Rei-chan rides the same train as I do to go home; we could talk to him then!" Nagisa said excitedly.

"I can't. I barely even exchanged two sentences with the guy."

"It's better than nothing!"

"I already told you, Nagi-kun. I need to study."

"It's a History exam, right? You can sleep over at my place, and I could tutor you! That way we can kill two birds with one stone!"

"I couldn't possibly-"

"You can borrow one of my sisters' clothes during your stay! And you can use our guest room too! Cmon, Bya-kun, we really need to get Rei-chan in the club!"

"But-"

"Pleaseeee, Bya-kun?" The blonde pleaded, clutching Byakuya's arm and looking up at her with his puppy-dog eyes. He did have a point- it might help a bit since she had spoken to Ryugazaki before, though not much. It was troublesome however, especially since she had an upcoming test, and Byakuya didn't really want to go through the trouble. But then again, the swim club was important too, so...

...Either it was her want to change her attitude that was making her reconsider or Nagisa's puppy face was working for once. She dearly hoped it was the former.

Byakuya sighed and turned to her other companions. "I hope you don't mind, guys..."

Makoto just nodded in understanding. "It's alright, Byaku-chan. Nagisa is right, this could work out pretty well if both of you could recruit Ryugazaki-kun. Besides, Nagisa's better at History than either of us anyway."

"Yeah, I know. But still..."

"Don't worry about it. Go ahead." Makoto insisted kindly, ruffling her hair.

"Okay... if you say so." Byakuya said unsurely.

Nagisa let out a whoop of triumph. "Yeah! Let's go, Bya-kun! We have to get to the train station before Rei-chan does!"

"Since when do you know him well enough to call him by his first name...?" Byakuya asked as Nagisa forcefully dragged her away for the second time that day.

"Nagisa-kun is very... lively." Kou commented. "I almost pity Byakuya-senpai. "

"Yeah, well, they've been that way for years now." Makoto replied as they all continued on their way. It was true- both Nagisa and Byakuya had gotten along rather well as kids; they had always pulled the craziest antics and shared a rather peculiar sense of humour. After Byakuya stopped attending swim club, though, they had drifted apart after the girl became more and more withdrawn. But now... it looked like that obstacle was slowly starting to disappear.

The thought made Makoto smile. It was nice to see how things were slowly going back to normal for their little group. Now, if only they could get Rin back to his old, friendly self... everything would be perfect again.

* * *

><p>Rei Ryugazaki was casually walking down the stairs leading to the waiting platform at the train station, reading his book as he did so. It was a talent that had taken quite some time to get right- being able to read and walk at the same time without hitting or tripping over anything- but he had done it. Practice made perfect, and he was now able to pull off the cool image that came with being able to do so.<p>

Byakuya wished she could look half as cool as that. She was getting more and more impressed with the guy with every new thing she discovered that he could do- no wonder Nagisa wanted him on the swim team.

"Hey, Rei-chan!" Nagisa called out as the two of them stood up from their seats.

The bluenette seemed to want to avoid speaking with the blonde, but when he registered what Nagisa had called him, he did a double take.

"'Rei-chan'?!" He exclaimed, somewhat annoyed.

"Told you he probably wouldn't like being called that, Nagi-kun." Byakuya commented. "Ryugazaki-san." She greeted the other boy.

"Shion-senpai." Rei nodded his head in acknowledgement and turned back to his book, trying to send off the signal that he really didn't want to talk with them.

Byakuya got the message. Nagisa didn't.

"Oh, you can call me Nagisa!" The blonde said cheerily, either oblivious to the boy's cold demeanour or ignoring it. Most likely it was the latter.

"I won't." Rei responded, pushing his glasses up. "We're not that close."

"We can get closer once you join the swim club." Nagisa hinted, moving closer to Rei. That boy was about as subtle as a gun sometimes.

"I'm not going to join." Rei answered as he shifted away from the blonde, eyes never leaving his book. Nagisa simply moved closer again, and the cycle continued, much to Byakuya's amusement. "I'm only interested in sports that are beautiful."

"Like track?" Nagisa inquired.

"Yes. It's a sport known for beautiful events such as pole-vaulting. You can attain the perfect form through theory and calculation!" Rei proclaimed.

"That sounds too difficult for me to understand." Nagisa stated, confused at the boy's fancy terms.

"You could give swimming a shot, Ryugazaki-san." Byakuya commented, trying to do her part in the underclassman's recruitment. "You might like it."

"Highly doubtful. And I am perfectly fine with my place on the track field."

"You could be in both clubs at once!" Nagisa suggested. "You use your arm muscles for pole vaulting, right? So wouldn't swimming be perfect?"

"I'm not going to join both." Rei sighed in irritation, finally shutting his book and placing a hand on his forehead. "After all, humans evolved to live on land. Why would you go backwards and play sports in water?"

"...I think he just said swimmers are devolved homosapiens." Byakuya deadpanned.

Nagisa gave her a look that clearly said that she wasn't helping.

"It defies reason!" Rei suddenly shouted, swinging out his arms for emphasis. Both Nagisa and Byakuya jumped at the boy's loss of composure. "Don't forget water has 12 to 13 times the viscosity of air! And do you have any idea how many accidents occur in water-based sports compared to land sports? Not to mention the statistics-"

The underclassman continued to rant on about the advantages of land sports compared to water sports. Byakuya and Nagisa sweatdropped.

"Well there goes my inital impression of him as the cool, collected type." Byakuya muttered.

Nagisa had to nod in agreement.

* * *

><p>"So, this Muramasa-"<p>

"Masamune."

"Right. His mom preferred his younger brother over him just because he had a defect eye?"

"Well, they were royalty; they had pretty high expectations for monarchs back then."

"Still. Isn't that a pretty weak reason?"

"The exams aren't going to ask for an in-depth explanation of why Yoshihime preferred her second born, Bya-kun."

"Then why is it in the book?"

"It's an extra fact that may be important."

"...This is why I hate History." Byakuya groaned as she slumped in her seat at Nagisa's study table. The boy had kept his end of the bargain and was tutoring her- and man, he was good. To think he hadn't even started the second-year syllabus... this wasn't exactly great for Byakuya's self esteem. She made a mental note to study harder.

"Don't be like that! If you hate a subject, you'll never be able to score!" Nagisa nagged.

"That explains why you suck at Maths, then."

"But Maths is boring!"

"And that makes our situations different...how?"

Nagisa didn't have an answer to that, so he changed the subject. Smart boy.

"Say, Bya-kun. What are we gonna do about Rei-chan?" He asked, putting his chin in his hand. Getting his classmate to join the swim team had been lot easier in his head; he definitely hadn't expected Rei to react the way he had back at the train station.

Byakuya huffed and leaned back in her chair. "Well... He doesn't really seem all that interested. In fact, he seems to hate swimming- heaven help that boy if Haru actually meets him- so... maybe we should let it go? Try to find another person? He can't be the only one in the school with athletic talent..."

"But you saw how great he was on the track field! Can you imagine someone better than that?" Nagisa protested.

"Well, yeah, he was great." Byakuya agreed. "But if you ask me, he seems a little... uptight."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Nagisa inquired.

"Well... he seems to be very theoretical. He doesn't seem to be the kind to let loose and have fun, you know?"

"But that's exactly why I want him on the swim team!" Nagisa insisted. "He's really dedicated once he takes an interest in something, and what he said about swimming... he's totally wrong! Swimming is fun, it's amazing... it's freedom. Everyone should be allowed to experience that feeling! I want Rei-chan to understand that."

Byakuya pondered Nagisa's words for a while in silence. Ryugazaki's opinions on swimming had offended Byakuya to an extent and it had somewhat damaged the boy's image in her eyes, but she couldn't deny his capabilities. He seemed to be quite intelligent, and if his performance on the track field was anything to go by, his physicality wasn't lacking either. He probably wouldn't have too much problem with adapting to the water sport, even if he seemed adamant about not doing top it off, Nagisa seemed to have made up his mind about getting Rei in the club, and well...

Rei didn't know it yet, but he had no chance of resistance.

"If you say so, Nagi-kun. I'll do what I can to help you out." The girl complied.

"Great!" Nagisa grinned cheerily. "Just try to be polite to him, and we'll have Rei-chan on the swim team in no time!"

"Why do you assume I'm always rude to new people?" Byakuya sighed.

"Am I wrong?"

"...Let's get back to this Muni guy."

"Masamune."

"Whatever."

* * *

><p>"How're you holding up, Haru?" Makoto asked as he turned around to face the raven-haired teen. They had been sitting at the study desk in Makoto's room, studying nonstop all afternoon. Mr Hasegawa's tests were pretty tough, and they wanted to make sure they had all the information down.<p>

Haruka shrugged in response to his friend's question. He was starting to get pretty tired from all the studying, and Makoto could tell that much without him needing to say anything.

"Well, I think we've studied enough for now." The olive-haired boy commented as he stood up and stretched; his body ached from sitting at his desk without moving for so long. "Dinner should start in a few minutes, how about we head down?"

"Sure." Haruka responded. The two boys stood up and left the room before heading down the stairs. They could already smell Mrs Tachibana's cooking- Makoto's mom was making dinner, and she was an excellent cook.

"Haru-chan!" The twins chorused as the two teens walked into the dining room. They ran up to Haru and started tugging at his shirt, trying to get his attention. They hadn't gotten to speak to him the whole time he was here, since he and Makoto had been studying. Naturally, they were eager to talk to him now.

"Haru-chan, when are you gonna come back and finish that video game?" Ren asked insistently.

"Yeah! We've been waiting for so long! We can't beat that boss!" Ran pouted.

"Looks like they missed you, Haru." Makoto chuckled. Haruka just gave him an exasperated look as the twins continued bombarding him with questions while they made their way to the dining table.

"Ah, Haruka-kun. It's been a while." Mr Tachibana smiled as he greeted the boy from his seat at the head of the table. He had always been surprised that the quiet lad had ended up as his son's best friend; but as time went by he had started understanding the almost strange yet dynamic relationship the two shared. Haruka depended on Makoto, and Makoto did the same in his own way. Theirs was a friendship that was hard to come by, and Isami was glad that his son had found a good companion that he could trust.

"Good evening, Isami-ojisan. Kotetsu-obasan." Haruka bowed slightly as he greeted his friend's parents before taking a seat at the table. Makoto sat down next to him as the twins took the seats opposite them.

"It's good to have you here again, Haruka-kun." Kotetsu responded cheerily as she walked out of the kitchen and set down the dish she had made onto the table. "Have you been doing well?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." Haruka replied politely. He actually rather liked Makoto's family- since his own parents were nearly always away for business or other reasons, he spent a good deal of his time with the Tachibanas. Mr and Mrs Tachibana were pretty much his second parents.

"That's good, that's good." Mrs Tachibana nodded as she removed her apron to hang it back up.

"Ah, I just realized, where's Byakuya-chan?" Isami asked as he passed around the plates and utensils to the twins, who eagerly started setting the table.

"She's staying over at Nagisa's. They had some swim club things to handle." Makoto replied.

"Oh yeah, the swim club. How are things going, by the way?" Kotetsu asked as she slid into the seat opposite her husband.

"Well, we haven't really done anything so far." Makoto replied. "We're trying to find a way to get the school to sponsor our registration in an indoor gym to swim at during the off-season, but we need to get achievements for that. There also needs to be 5 swimmers as well, so Byaku-chan and Nagisa are working on recruiting our sixth member."

"Hmm. So there's still quite a lot of work you kids have to do to get this club up and running." Mr Tachibana said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. It's toughest on Haru, though. He's dying to swim already." Makoto commented good-naturedly. Haruka just shot him another exasperated look.

"You got sick that day because you went swimming in the cold, right?" Kotetsu tutted reprimandingly. "You really ought to take better care of yourself, Haruka-kun. What if it had been worse?"

"I apologize for making you worry." Haruka apologized sincerely. Mrs Tachibana had a knack for making people feel guilty when she wanted you to; something Makoto had inherited as well.

"Byaku-nee was really worried about you too, Haru-chan!" Ran commented.

"Hm?"

"Yeah!" Ren added. "She was saying things like how she would be glad to make you feel better by shoving a pole up yo-"

"Your food's getting cold, Ren!" Makoto cut in quickly before his brother could finish the -probably crude- sentence. "You better eat it while it's still hot!"

"Oh!" Ran forgot all about what he had been about to say and started shovelling food into his mouth, an eating habit Byakuya may or may not have been responsible for influencing.

Haruka raised a brow. He had a pretty good guess as to how that sentence ended... It wasn't a pleasant picture.

* * *

><p>"Is that Tama-nee's pink Hello Kitty shirt?" Nagisa asked in shock from his seat at the dining table. His oldest sister, Tamako had been making conversation with Byakuya as they entered the dining room.<p>

Byakuya scowled in embarassment. "It was the only one I could fit in." She mumbled. All of Nagisa's sisters were pretty petite, much like the boy himself. She had never really seen much of them, but she really wished Nagisa had given her a heads up on their small statures when he'd said she could borrow some clothes from one of them. The long, hawaiian-print pants Tamako had lent were practically shorts on her, and they contrasted horribly with the neon pink shirt she was wearing. She felt like a fashion disaster.

Nagisa started guffawing. "But Tama-nee uses that as a dress!"

"I'm pretty big for a girl, okay?" Byakuya grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. She had long gotten over her insecurities regarding her masculine size and height, but it was still embarassing to have someone point it out.

"Oh, don't be so mean to your friend, Nagi!" Chie, Nagisa's second sister cut in as she placed the food on the table.

"Yeah; it looks cute on her!" The youngest sister, Minako gushed.

"C-cute?" Byakuya's face turned red. That was an adjective she rarely heard used to describe her. And she would hardly call this hideous excuse of an ensemble 'cute'.

"Doesn't it just?" Tamako agreed enthusiastically. "I didn't think the dress would work with pants, but I suppose with the right height you could pull it off."

"I-I'm not... it doesn't really..." Byakuya started to protest, but was cut off by the sound of a phone camera snapping a picture. She spun towards Nagisa, who was clutching his phone as he giggled mischievously.

"You delete that right now!" Byakuya yelled, lunging for the phone. The last thing she needed was for Nagisa to show a picture of her in this... thing to everyone.

Nagisa just dodged out of the way and ran to the other side of the dining table. "I can't wait to send this to Mako-chan and Haru-chan!" he jeered.

"Don't you dare-"

"Who are 'Mako-chan' and 'Haru-chan'?" Tamako asked curiously.

"Are they your boyfriends, Byakuya-chan?" Chie added.

"Wh-what?" Byakuya was beyond flustered. "No! And what's with the multiple term?"

"Well, why not?" Minako asked innocently.

Byakuya blanched.

"I'm doing it~" Nagisa said as his thumb came down on the 'send' button that would commence Byakuya's death sentence.

In a last desperate attempt to save her dignity, Byakuya launched herself across the table and tackled Nagisa to the floor. Thankfully, none of the plates or dinnerware were victimised by her impulsive action. They both went crashing down and started grappling for the cell phone, looking a lot like two five year-old girls fighting over a doll.

"Just give it here!"

"But they gotta see this!"

"Nagi-kun, I will castrate you!"

"What does castrate mean?"

"That doesn't matter! Just give it-"

When she finally got the phone from Nagisa's stubborn hands, she flipped the screen back up, facing her. To the girl's absolute horror, the message had been sent.

THE MESSAGE HAD BEEN SENT.

Byakuya moaned and fell face-first onto the floor. Her life was over. She was never gonna live this down. She was going to have to move to a different country. A different planet. Maybe raise an army of martians to destroy Earth to get rid of all evidence concerning that horrible picture.

Nagisa was rolling on the floor with laughter, feeling no remorse whatsoever at what he had done. Byakuya was too busy moping to kill him.

"Well, she's taking it rather well." Minako commented cheerily.

"I wonder what her boyfriends think of her picture?" Chie mused thoughtfully.

* * *

><p>"...What the heck did Nagisa do to Byaku-chan?!" Makoto exclaimed as he stared at his phone in a mix of horror and fascination.<p>

"Torture." Haruka responded plainly, though his eyebrows were raised in surprise. That was a very loud shirt- he never knew that such a bright shade of pink even existed.

The pants were alright, though.

* * *

><p>AN: The names of Nagisa's sisters were completely made up; I never realized how little we really know about the cast's families until now OTL. I sorta wish we had more Tachibana family scenes in the anime. They all just seem like such a nice family, they probably played a huge role in Makoto's upbringing- the sweetie. I also know I didn't include Nagisa's dad here, but I couldn't really think of a way to fit him in. Plus, his dad strikes me as the type who isn't home often- with four kids and no mother (that we know of), he's probably out working a lot. Also, I highly doubt a dad would let his son get put in makeup and dresses, which Nagisa's sisters apparently did to him quite often when they were younger, so... xD<p>

Shout out to Strange-fighter for following and faving this fic, and to volley-14-nerd for adding this story to your alerts! Thank you both, and I hope you guys stick around for the rest of this story!

See you guys next chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"No luck. He wouldn't say yes." Nagisa said sadly, his head bowed and arms dangling weakly as he stood at Haruka's desk in the upperclassman's classroom. Makoto was temporarily sitting in the chair in front of Haruka's desk, while Byakuya stood next to Nagisa with a small smirk on her face. Haruka had been making a rough sketch of yet another swim club recruitment poster before Nagisa had come up to them- it was excellent, as usual.

"I don't think Rei-chan likes water." Nagisa continued.

"We don't need anyone like that. Don't let him in the water." Haruka responded curtly.

Byakuya let out a short bark of laughter. She had figured Haruka would have responded to that new piece of information that way; the boy's love for water was amusing, to say the least.

"If you say that, nobody will join!" Nagisa cried, slamming his hands on Haruka's table and coming even closer to the boy's face. "We'll have to spend all winter lifting weights and jogging! Are you okay with that, Haru-chan? Are you really okay with that?" The blonde emphasized.

Haruka's face had grown more and more pale as Nagisa went on, uncomfortable at having the boy all up in his personal space as well as the questions he was being bombarded with.

"...No." Haruka relented, turning his head away from Nagisa's intense gaze. That boy really was good at swaying others to his will.

Nagisa straightened up, satisfied at Haru's response. He placed his chin in his hand in contemplation.

"It looks like we really are gonna have to get Ama-chan and Bya-kun to strip down for us." He mused.

Byakuya smacked him upside his head.

"What?" Nagisa whined. "You're gonna be swimming anyway, Bya-kun! What's the problem?"

"You know very well what the problem is!" She scowled.

"That won't happen." Makoto cut in immediately. "Miss Ama-chan said she would never put on a swimsuit."

Plus, he'd die before he let Byakuya get used for that sort of advertising.

"Well, then we reverse it!" Nagisa said.

"Reverse it?" Makoto asked confusedly.

Nagisa placed his hands on Haruka's desk again. "If you join, you get to show off your swimsuit to Miss Ama-chan and Bya-kun."

"Does anyone want that?" Makoto deadpanned. That was possibly worse than the first suggestion.

"Why would someone want that in the first place?" Byakuya added, her brow twitching.

"Well, then they'll get to show off their bodies to girls! Guys love that kind of stuff!"

"Guys are stupid."

Haruka seemed to want to jot down Nagisa's suggestion, but Makoto stopped his hand immediately. "Don't write that down!" He said exasperatedly.

"Ahem."

They all felt the surrounding temperature drop as they recognized the owner of that voice. They turned around slowly to face Miss Amakata, who was standing behind them with an extremely disturbing smile on her face.

"Excuse me, boys..." she started dangerously, the gleam in her eyes growing sharper.

Nagisa and Makoto gulped in fear.

"We're sorry!"

* * *

><p>"Hey, Haru?" Makoto asked casually.<p>

The addressed boy didn't seem to respond and kept his gaze fixed on the ocean as he and his two friends walked on home, but Makoto could tell that his friend was listening.

"It sounds like we'll be entering tournaments. Are you really okay with that? Even if... you end up racing Rin again, and beating him?" Makoto continued. Ever since the night he had found out about the race that Haru had had with Rin in middle school, that was the one question that had been bugging him. Was Haru really alright with joining the swim club if it meant facing his old friend? Was he afraid to hurt Rin again?

The question caught Haruka's attention. He turned to face his best friend's worried gaze, surprise evident on his normally passive face. Makoto knew? And judging from Byakuya's solemn silence, she did as well.

He forced his expression back to normal and faced the ocean, which was bathed in the light of the setting sun.

"Who told you that?" He asked tonelessly. He should have figured that his friends would have found out sooner or later.

"We ran into Coach Sasabe the other day." Makoto explained.

In his mind's eye, Haruka recalled how Rin had looked back then, tears in his eyes as he sat on the floor in defeat. Haruka had been utterly shocked at the boy's reaction; it had been the first time he had ever seen Rin so...vulnerable. Before he could help his friend up, however, Rin's expression hardened and he just stood up and stalked off, not even glancing back at Haruka once. And Haru had let him walk away.

The raven-haired boy almost always thought about that day, and how things might have been different if he had just reached out to Rin anyway- if he had just gone after his friend. But would it have made a difference? Was it, perhaps, better that he hadn't run after Rin?

Heaven only knew.

"It's in the past." He said simply, though he still couldn't bring himself to look Makoto in the eye. If he did, his friend would see what he hadn't said, know the regrets he held. Haruka wouldn't- couldn't- place the burden of that knowledge on him; Makoto didn't need to worry.

"Besides..." Haruka continued, gaze softening slightly. "He's swimming again. That's enough."

Byakuya turned her eyes to Haruka's face. The way he had said that... he had been worried, hadn't he? Worried that he had hurt Rin so badly the boy would have quit swimming altogether. She could sense his relief at the fact that he hadn't inflicted damage of that extent unto Rin. Haruka really wasn't concerned that Rin had won their second race. No...he was glad. Truly, genuinely glad for his friend's victory.

So why didn't Rin feel the same way?

Makoto looked somewhat surprised at Haruka's answer, but slowly smiled at the boy. He could obviously sense Haru's feelings as well, though the sapphire-eyed boy didn't show it. It didn't matter to Mako, though- if his friend was happy, then he was happy as well.

Byakuya just followed Haruka's gaze and stared at the sun setting over the ocean as well. The sky was bathed in oranges and reds, almost as if it were on fire. The seagulls soared in the burning sky, freely gliding through the air. And the ocean... The tides pushed and pulled, pushed and pulled- a rhythmic pattern that never failed to bring a sense of peace to any passerby.

As she gazed at the lovely scenery, she vaguely recalled a memory from a day many years ago. A day not too different from this one; a day when they were still innocent children living without a care or worry in the world.

* * *

><p>"It's so pretty!" The 11-year old Nagisa said cheerily as he and his friends stood on the rooftop of the Iwatobi Swim Club. Practice was out, and they were just happily gazing at the sunset before they would all head home for the day.<p>

"I know, right?" Rin said happily. "Did you know that each sunset is different? So, each sunset you see is actually the first time you've seen it!"

"But wouldn't that also make it the last time you see it?" Makoto mused thoughtfully.

"Well, yeah. There's that." Rin laughed sheepishly.

"But that's what makes it special." Haruka commented.

"Yep! Got that right, Nanase!"

For a moment, they all fell into silence as they simply gazed out at the scenery.

"...Sunsets are sad." Byakuya suddenly said, quietly.

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Nagisa asked curiously.

"It reminds you that the day is over. That it can't go on forever." Byakuya said despondently. "The light goes away, and then night comes. Everything is always so quiet and dark at night..."

"But sunsets also mean that you've had another great day!" Rin cut in suddenly. "The light doesn't disappear forever, and then when the next day arrives, you can come out and have fun again! Sunsets tell you that a new day awaits you tomorrow; what's so sad about that?"

Byakuya was taken back at Rin's passionate response. His point of view had intrigued her- his opinion was so different from hers. The sunset brought him hope, while for her it brought sadness. He saw the world in a more positive light- in all its happiness and beauty- and what he said made Byakuya ponder for a long moment.

"Really..." she said thoughtfully, as she stared into the setting sun, replaying Rin's words over and over in her head. Eventually, she turned back to the crimson-haired boy and gave him a small smile. "Thanks Rin-kun. I think... I'll be able to look forward to sunsets now."

"Heh. No problem! That's what friends are for, right? To cheer each other up!" Rin replied, grinning as he threw his arms over all his friends' necks.

That made all of them smile; even Haru's lips gave a small quirk. The five of them returned their gazes to the beautiful sky, and just remained that way in a comfortable silence as the daylight slowly faded away.

* * *

><p><em>'Can you still see that, Rin-kun? Can you still see a new beginning in the sunset? It was thanks to you that I- that all of us- learned to see the light that would come after the darkness. Please tell me that you still feel the same way. Please...'<em>

* * *

><p>On the other side of town, Rin Matsuoka stood alone on the rooftop of Samezuka Academy. As he stared at the red sky, he muttered to himself.<p>

"A new day..."

What a joke.

* * *

><p>Back on the track field of Iwatobi High, Rei Ryugazaki prepared himself for yet another go at the pole vault.<p>

"Bar height: 4.30 metres. Set takeoff speed to v. Leave a, acceleration unchanged." He muttered methodically to himself. He had been through the formula in his head several times over, making sure that the results would be as he wanted them to be.

"But factor in the potential energy from any shifts in the pole's centre of gravity..." he continued as he readied the pole in his hands. As soon as he was ready, he sprinted down the runway.

As the pole hit the landing pit, he shot up into the air. As expected; his formulas were working out perfectly so far...

And then something unexpected happened- a strong wind blew past.

Rei took a sharp intake of breath as he recognized what this would do to jeopardize his jump immediately. This interference utterly disrupted all the methodical calculations he had planned out.

His jump over the pole failed as his body came into contact with it. He fell back onto the landing mat, the pole clattering onto him. The bespectacled boy grunted as he sat up, moving the pole off his torso. His arm hurt slightly, but thankfully he wasn't too badly hurt. The boy's heavy breathing lightned up slightly- he was lucky to not have received any major injuries from the faulty vault.

"Ryugazaki." His gym teacher called out as he neared the boy's position. "Are you running calculations in your head before jumping?"

Rei didn't answer. The teacher knew the answer as well as he did.

"Your form is perfect." The teacher continued. "But that's all you have. You're too focused on the technical side."

Rei was alarmed by this statement. His mistake was simply because of another factor that he hadn't accounted for- what was the teacher saying?

"But I-"

"I understand that's your style, but you're not going to improve at this rate." The teacher cut in bluntly.

The bluenette was taken aback by the teacher's words. Improve? What was there to improve? His calculations were near- if not, absolutely- precise! Sports depended on meticulous calculations, did they not? Without proper estimation or timing, no one would be able to do well. So why...

Rei grit his teeth and clenched his fists. For once, he didn't understand what the teacher was saying.

And that bothered him more than anything else.

* * *

><p>AN: I realize I alternate between happy chapter and serious chapter a lot. I'm sorry if it's depressing, haha! Pretty short chapter, I know, so I think I'll make up for it by posting the next one on Monday before the usual Wednesday and Saturday updates too. Just a heads up- it's gonna be sorta fluffy again.<p>

Yes, I have the next chapter prepared already. I'm quite a few chapters ahead, actually. But I just like posting them one at a time because I have a habit of re-reading and re-writing chapters... Also because I'm a douche like that. XD

Loads of thanks to introvertedHermit again for faving this fic, Shizuka Kitsune for reviewing, and Sutekina mia for adding this story to your favourites and alerts! Thanks for your support! *showers you all with cyber cookies*

See ya'll next water time!


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

I have good news for everyone today!" Kou said enthusiastically as she spoke to the four other members of the swim club. They were all sitting by the pool after school, having come here after Kou had summoned them.

"Did you manage to get the new barbeque joint in town to supply our lunches for the rest of our lives?" Byakuya asked hopefully.

"No."

"Well, I can always dream."

"Anyway..." Kou continued, clapping her hands together before placing them on her hips. "Amazingly enough, I was able to schedule a joint practice session with Samezuka Academy!"

"You did?" Byakuya straightened up immediately. Samezuka Academy...

"What?! For real?" Nagisa exclaimed as he and his friends all exchanged excited glances.

Well, Haruka just remained stone-faced as always, but they knew he was pretty stoked about the news as well.

"Did you talk to Rin?" Makoto inquired.

That made Kou's triumphant expression fall somewhat, but she regained her composure.

"My brother won't listen to me, so I went straight to their captain!" Kou declared.

"Really..." Byakuya said thoughtfully. "I'm impressed. How'd you manage to get an audience with the captain of one of Japan's best swim teams?"

"It was easy!" Kou responded, puffing up with pride at Byakuya's praise- that was the first time she had received a compliment from the older girl. "I just went straight ahead and asked!"

That wasn't a lie. The swim team captain- Kou had found out that his name was Seijuuro Mikoshiba- was the redhead that she had met that day when she went to Samezuka to find Rin. Since she had already been acquainted with him, it was easy enough to talk to the guy, even if it had been a bit of a strange conversation...

* * *

><p>"Joint practice?" Seijuuro asked, a stony expression on his face. He looked absolutely serious, and took a step towards the girl.<p>

"U-uhm... yes?" Kou peeped out nervously. Had she made a mistake by asking?

"That sounds great!" The redhead suddenly grinned and grabbed Kou's hands enthusiastically. "Let's do it!"

Kou sweatdropped at the boy's sudden change of demeanour. That was the first time she got the hint that all the attractive men she was surrounded with weren't quite normal.

* * *

><p>"That's our super manager!" Nagisa cheered. "Gou-cha-"<p>

"It's Kou." The girl corrected automatically.

"That means we have permission to swim in Samezuka's indoor pool now!" Makoto enthused, grinning at Haruka.

"Great! I was getting sick of breaking and entering!" Byakuya said happily.

"Don't you break into Haru-chan's house nearly every day?" Nagisa asked.

"That's not the point."

"But..." Kou interrupted hesitantly. "Since it's a joint practice, we're gonna need to bring 5 members at a minimum."

"...Always the 5 member rule. Always." Byakuya sighed, deflated.

"That means we have to recruit a new member before the practice." Nagisa mused. "Especially since Gou-chan used her sex appeal to get us this chance."

Kou let out a yell and turned red at Nagisa's implication.

"I didn't use my sex appeal!" She denied vehemently.

"Huh? You didn't?" Nagisa asked.

"Of course I didn't!"

"Why does it always come down to sex appeal for you?" Byakuya sighed.

"Well, what other explanation is there?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe I went up and asked nicely?"

"Isn't that using your sex appeal?"

"We need to have another long talk on what sex appeal applies to, Nagi-kun."

Makoto and Haruka just sat by the sidelines as the other three conversed. Makoto sweatdropped at the topic they were discussing- it wasn't a subject he was very comfortable with. Haruka on the other hand just gazed at nothing in particular, deep in thought.

* * *

><p>Rin paused for a moment to catch his breath as he ran laps with his teammates during their warm-up. His roommate, Aiichirou Nitori had said something to him during their rounds that had caught his attention.<p>

"No one told me there would be a joint practice." He said, somewhat annoyed. New to the team or not, he would really like to be kept up-to-date on the going-ons in the swim club.

Nitori jogged up to Rin's side, pausing and bending over briefly to catch his breath. Samezuka Academy's training regimen was rather strenuous.

"The captain made the call," The lavender-haired boy said, panting. "Your little sister's a part of the Iwatobi Swim Club, right?"

Rin scowled slightly at the mention of the other swim club, but Nitori contined.

"Their members are Haruka Nanase, Makoto Tachibana, Nagisa Hazuki and Byakuya Shion. The boys all have girly names-"

Here the younger boy paused, noticing the fierce glare Rin was sending his way.

"...Sorry." Nitori apologized. He'd nearly let his tongue get away with him as he forgot for a moment that his senpai had a girly name as well.

"How do you know?" Rin demanded, his glare never faltering.

"Ah, I participated in that tournament." Nitori explained, referring to the relay Rin and the others had taken part in all those years ago. He recalled how different the Matsuoka boy had looked back then, grinning and joking around with his friends. "I believe that was your last race as a grade-schooler, Matsuoka-senpai. My team lost in the prelims..."

"But that race was amazing to watch!" The underclassman enthused, eyes sparkling with admiration.

Rin just looked away and grit his teeth. Without warning, he just continued his run while Nitori exclaimed in surprise and jogged to catch up.

He didn't want to be reminded of those times now. Haru was a rival now, not a teammate. Remembering those days would only hold him back.

Rin kept repeating that mantra to himself as he finished his laps. By the time it was time to actually swim, he cut through the water with such determination and ferocity his opponent barely stood a chance.

He was better than Haruka Nanase- he would make sure of that.

* * *

><p>Haruka was feeding the cats in his neighbourhood that evening. As he was crouching down in his backyard and petting one of the felines, he let out a loud sneeze that scared them all away.<p>

'Someone's talking about me.' He thought to himself as he sniffed.

...He dearly hoped it wasn't Byakuya cursing him to the depths of hell again.

* * *

><p>Rei Ryugazaki stretched his arms as he stood at the train stop he had gotten off at. He was preparing himself for his usual morning run, but just as he was about to take off, he heard the sound of panting and footsteps jogging up to the station.<p>

"Wait, Rei-chan!" An annoying voice he was- rather begrudgingly- getting used to rang out.

"Man... I'm feeling a little sore already." A female voice Rei recognized as belonging to Byakuya Shion panted as she caught up as well.

"You're getting fat, Bya-kun."

"Shut your whore mouth."

The bespectacled boy sighed and pushed up his glasses. He was getting rather annoyed at his blonde classmate's insistence that he join the swim team. Hazuki was very persistent though; he'd give him that much. And as for his senior... he was really starting to question how this girl was the top Biology student of her year. It was almost insulting for his own academic skills to be compared to that of this... delinquent.

"What do you two want?" Rei asked exasperatedly.

"Can we run with you?" Nagisa piped up excitedly.

The bluenette honestly contemplated saying "no" just to see what they would do if he did, but then he figured that they would just follow him anyway. He sighed.

"If you can keep up." Rei said, before beginning his run without waiting for them to catch up.

"Okay!" Nagisa cheered, running after his classmate.

"... I really need to get back in shape." Byakuya groaned as she followed after the two underclassmen.

Really, the things she did for friendship.

* * *

><p>"This brings back memories. I used to run to the swim club with Haru-chan like this back in grade school." Nagisa commented as he gazed out over the wide paddy fields as they ran. If there was one thing really great about the small town of Iwatobi, it was the loveliness of the nature. Pollution and the like were kept at a minimum, preserving the natural beauty of the place.<p>

"He used to play it cool and say 'If you can keep up.'" Nagisa continued, imitating Haru's voice.

"That's just like him." Byakuya snorted, her breathing growing slightly heavy from the run. Her stamina definitely wasn't up to par.

"Who's this 'Haru-chan'?" Rei asked. The two friends gave a start as they realized the boy had taken a bend while they kept running straight. They had to back up a bit and turn back onto the right path.

"Oh, you go this way?" Nagisa said as he caught back up with his blue-haired classmate.

"What do you want?" Rei asked, annoyed.

"What do I want? I want you to join the swim club!" Nagisa said simply.

"Shouldn't that have been obvious after the last time, Ryugazaki-san?" Byakuya joked lightly. The boy just scoffed.

"We really need another member before our joint practice." Nagisa continued.

"Why does it have to be me?" The Ryugazaki boy shot back. He really thought that they would have given up on recruiting him after the last attempt- he thought he'd made his stand very clear. Either his blonde classmate was really dense, or he was just persistent.

Rei guessed it was the latter.

"Well, you see...um..." Byakuya trailed off. She honestly had no idea why they were doing this- the only reason she was here now was because Nagisa had called her up at an ungodly hour in the morning and told her to meet him at the train stop.

"You don't even have a legit reason?" Rei asked, somewhat miffed.

"Of course we do! Nagi-kun, tell him!" Byakuya said, silently high-fiving herself for the great save.

Nagisa thought about it for a while.

"Because you're a boy with a girly name?" He tried.

Byakuya blanched. "That's the best you could come up with?" She whispered.

"That's your reason?" Rei exclaimed, stopping in his tracks and turning around to face the blonde.

"Yeah."

Rei placed his face in his hand. This guy...

"But the main reason is because you looked beautiful." Nagisa added.

"Huh?" Rei was startled. He certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"When you were pole vaulting, your jump looked really beautiful, Rei-chan!" Nagisa repeated enthusiastically.

Byakuya smiled. That was better.

"That's right, Ryugazaki-san. Your form was flawless; there aren't many who can pull that off. You were very impressive." She added honestly.

Rei was absolutely flustered at the praise he was receiving from his two schoolmates, and quickly averted his gaze. He pushed up his glasses in an attempt to look nonchalant when in actuality, he was covering up his embarassment.

"Well... I was just following theory and calculation." Rei said, his fists clenching slightly as he recalled the words his teacher had spoken to him yesterday. He was rather bitter from the reprimand that he had received, and the words rang though his head; clear as day. He still didn't know what he could do to improve himself, if what his teacher said was true...

"That's not something everybody can do. I suck at that stuff." Nagisa laughed sheepishly. It was true; he was terrible with anything to do with numbers and the like. Rei was somewhat taken aback at the boy's remark... was Hazuki trying to reassure him?

"So I want you to use theory and calculation to look good swimming!" Nagisa continued, determined to get the boy to agree to join this time.

Byakuya wanted to add on to Nagisa's comment, but found that she couldn't. Theory and calculation... in swimming? It didn't quite match up in her head.

"That's impossible." Rei said simply. "A swimmer has to flap his arms and legs underwater while struggling to break the surface for a gasp of air...You can't look good while doing that!" He shouted to the sky at the end, making Byakuya and Nagisa jump again.

"Really?" Nagisa asked, regaining his composure first. "But Haru-chan's a beautiful swimmer."

"Hm?" Rei asked, returning back to his serious state. That caught his attention.

Byakuya smirked. "That's right. You clearly haven't seen real swimming yet." She said, almost challengingly. If Rei was the sort of person she thought he was, his curiousity would be piqued even further at the notion of a challenge.

Rei raised an eyebrow at the two. Their statements had indeed intrigued him, but there was no way he was going to let them know that- he was far too prideful to let it show.

"Haru-chan again?" He said nonchalantly, before he continued running again.

"Hey, wait!" Nagisa cried out as he ran to catch up with his classmate. Byakuya just sighed, but she smirked as she began to run as well.

Rei was definitely hooked, alright.

* * *

><p>Nagisa and Byakuya stood before Haruka and Makoto at the entrance of the school. They were both hunched over, hands on their knees as they panted heavily. The run had taken quite a lot out of them, and they could barely greet their two friends without keeling over.<p>

"...What are you doing?" Haruka asked blankly as he stared at his two friends, who were dressed in their sports uniforms and drenched in sweat.

"H-Haru-chan. Mako-chan." Nagisa greeted breathlessly. Byakuya just nodded once in acknowledgement; she looked like she was about to collapse.

Before either Haru or Mako could ask them what they had been up to, the sound of footsteps coming from behind Haruka caught their attention. They all turned around to see the blunette from the track field the other day- Rei Ryugazaki- approaching them.

"Oh, Rei-chan." Nagisa said in surprise. The bespectacled boy barely spared him a glance as he faced Haruka.

"You're Haru-chan-san?" He asked directly.

Despite her tired state, Byakuya doubled over in laughter. That was a mistake though- now she could barely breathe.

"Don't put '-chan' and '-san' on my name." Haruka said, annoyed. Who did this guy think he was, addressing him like that?

"Is there something up?" Nagisa asked as he stood up straighter. He also stepped on Byakuya's foot to get her to stop laughing. It worked wonders- the girl yelped and shut up immediately.

"I'm willing to participate in your joint practice as a trial member." Rei said, earning a surprised glance from everyone.

"What? Really?!" Nagisa and Byakuya both exclaimed joyfully.

"But only on one condition." The boy interrupted, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"I swear, if this is anything like that 'pretty-up-the-pool' condition you can kiss my- OW!" Byakuya was cut off by yet another stomp on the foot from Nagisa.

"What is it?" Nagisa asked, ignoring the girl's quiet cursing.

"I won't do any swimming." Rei said curtly.

That surprised them even more. Was the guy serious?

"I don't think that's-"

"Fine with us." Haruka cut Byakuya off monotonously, turning away and walking into the school before anyone could react.

Makoto chuckled sheepishly as they all watched the stoic boy with perplexed expressions on their faces. "He only cares about being able to swim, that's all."

"Yeah, that's Haru-chan for you." Nagisa said, turning back to Rei. "But don't let it get to you, Rei-chan! I knew you'd come around!"

"It wasn't because of your pleading. I simply wish to observe." Rei said simply, walking into the school compound as well.

"Hey! Wait up, Rei-chan!"

"Do not call me that."

"But Rei-chan-"

Makoto laughed at the two underclassmen who made their way to their classes. "Quite a pair they make, eh, Byaku-chan?"

"They'll be best friends, I'm sure." She responded sarcastically, making both of them laugh. It was rather difficult to imagine the two boys ever getting on friendly terms with each other; they were practically polar opposites.

"Well, we'd best head to class too. Let's go, then." Makoto said, turning to follow the other three that had already entered. He had walked several paces ahead before he realized with a start that Byakuya wasn't beside him. He immediately turned around to see that the girl still hadn't moved from her spot.

"Byaku-chan?" Makoto called out confusedly.

"Ehehe... uhm, Mako, this is sorta awkward, but..." the girl forced out a sheepish laugh. "I sorta can't move my legs...?"

"What?" Makoto blanched.

"Nagi-kun stomped on my feet, and my legs were already pretty sore from the run, so... they're kinda numb..." she trailed off, embarassed. She felt pretty pathetic.

Makoto just smiled sympathetically as he walked back over to the girl. He removed his green backpack and handed it to her.

"You think you can carry this for me?" He asked.

"Uh, sure?" She replied confusedly, taking her friend's backpack and sliding it onto her shoulder over her own bag.

Makoto nodded in thanks before he knelt on the floor and turned his back towards her.

"Get on." He said, glancing back over his shoulder at the girl.

"What?" She exclaimed, shocked at what he was implying she should do. "A-are you really serious?"

"Just do it, Byaku-chan. We need to get to class; Haru's probably waiting for us."

"But I-"

Before she could finish her protest, however, Makoto just grabbed onto her legs and pulled her forth. Byakuya yelped as she fell onto the boy's back, hands automatically wrapping around his neck to steady herself. Makoto grunted as he pulled Byakuya's legs to his side and lifted her off the ground, starting the walk into the school compound.

"Makoto Tachibana, are you insane?!" Byakuya exclaimed as her grip around his neck tightened. She knew she wasn't exactly light, and was increasingly worried that her weight would be too much for Makoto to handle.

Plus, all the students were staring as they walked by.

"It's alright, Byaku-chan." Makoto assured, his face flushing slightly upon noticing the close contact between him and the girl. "I won't drop you."

"But I'm fat." Byakuya whined. "Even Nagi-kun said so."

"Does that bother you?" Makoto inquired. He was rather surprised- he didn't think that Byakuya was concerned about trivial things like her weight- she always seemed comfortable with her body... though now it would seem that she wasn't quite as confident as she made herself out to be.

"I can't exactly fit into a size zero Versace dress- nor am I petite, in case you haven't noticed, Mako." She scoffed. "Sorry if I'm heavy..."

"Your weight is fine!" Makoto insisted. "Besides, I think you're great just the way you are."

That made Byakuya blush fiercely and she ducked her head, effectively hiding her face. Did he have to make such an embarassing comment?

Unbeknownst to her, Makoto's face had also turned a very similar shade of crimson. He didn't retract his statement, though.

"...Thanks, Mako." Byakuya mumbled out, her words barely audible.

"Any time, Byaku-chan." Makoto said, smiling softly as his hold on the girl's legs tightened slightly. No, he wouldn't drop her- of that Byakuya was sure. Makoto had never failed her before, and she doubted he ever would. She cared for him dearly, and longed to be able to protect him just as he did her. He was her best friend, after all- though, she had to wonder why her heartbeat suddenly quickened...

It took her all of two seconds to connect the dots, and her eyes widened when she recognized what it was she was feeling. It was the same as that time when Haru had hugged her when she was a kid.

She had a crush on him. She had a crush on Makoto Tachibana.

...

She was so screwed.

* * *

><p>AN: Hooray for revelations! And for the canon-ization of more Rei screentime! Rei is a really beautiful character, really- and not just because of his love for beauty and all, haha! His development in the series is a really big running factor for the others' growths as well, especially for Rin. He's just amazing that way. Butterfly love, yo!<p>

Also, guys, I sorta need your help. Ya'll know how in episode 6 the guys all play a game in the abandoned lighthouse? Yeah, well I'm sorta stuck on trying to figure out what question Byakuya gets asked. Soooo, it's reader to the rescue time! Any suggestions on what I should have Byakuya do? Cmon guys, I'm at writer's block of sorts now, send help, haha!

Major thanks to NotSauron (Really great to see you around again!) For faving, following and reviewing this fic, as well as adding my profile to your fav authors list! Also, sorry I failed to realize that you also added my profile to your alerts and fav list, Sutekina mia! Pardon my ignorance, and thank you both for your support! *showers you guys with digital confetti*

See ya'll next chapter!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

"Wow, indoor pools are so nice!" Nagisa said enthusiastically as he looked around the large indoor pool of Samezuka Academy. The members of the swim club, plus Rei, had arrived at the other school for the joint swimming practice that day, and they were still rather awed at Samezuka's great facilities.

"It certainly looks a lot more impressive in the daytime." Byakuya said, agreeing with the younger boy. The details of the large structure could be made out much more clearly in the daylight compared to the last time they were here- a swimming powerhouse, indeed. The Shion girl turned towards the blunette who had come along with them, hoping to try one last time to talk him into joining them. She was rather interested to see how he would do at the sport.

"So, you sure you don't wanna swim, Ryugazaki-san?" She asked.

"Positive." The boy responded, pushing his glasses up. "I wish to be sure that my skills will be put to good use first."

"Uh, okay..." Byakuya relented. The guy was rather prideful, wasn't he? But then again, given his capabilities, he sort of had a right to be. She really did hope that the Ryugazaki boy's coming here today would be enough to convince him to officially join them.

Plus, she couldn't wait to see the look on his face once he saw Haru swim. She let herself smirk a little at the thought- he was gonna be blown away, alright.

Returning her gaze to the Olympic-sized pool, her nerves decided to be a pain in the ass and they kicked in again. The smirk on her face faded as her heartbeat started accelerating.

She was going to be swimming today. Really, really swimming; and with the students of Samezuka too. It wasn't even a real competition, but still... it felt a lot like it. She honestly doubted herself- what if she slowed the others down? What if she got too stressed? What if she got all emotional like the last time?

A hand on her shoulder made her yell in surprise. She whipped around immediately to see her friends looking at her with confused expressions on their faces.

"W-what?" She asked, her face turning red from embarassment as she regained her composure. Makoto had been the one who had touched her shoulder, and he still didn't remove his hand as he stared worriedly at her.

Dammit. He looked so freaking adorable when he did that. This wasn't helping her already quick heart rate.

"You alright, Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked.

"You're really wound up, aren't you?" Nagisa added, tilting his head to the side.

"Huh? N-no, not at all, whatever gave you that idea?" she said, laughing rather unconvincingly. She was rather glad Nagisa had cut in when he did- that way she could avoid looking at Mako when she answered.

"You jumped six feet in the air when Makoto-senpai tapped your shoulder." Kou stated matter-of-factly.

"No I didn't!"

"Your face is red too." Haruka commented.

"Do you have a fever?" Makoto asked in concern.

"No, I'm fi-"

But Byakuya was cut off when Makoto placed a hand on her forehead and leaned closer, trying to check her temperature.

Byakuya yelped again and took several steps back quickly, breathing heavily.

The others all stared at her again.

The dark-haired girl took a few calming breaths to steady herself before clearing her throat and answering.

"I'm perfectly fine. Thank you." She said, wearing a perfectly neutral expression.

All of them sweatdropped.

* * *

><p>"I really should go shopping for a new swimsuit soon." Byakuya muttered as she removed her sports uniform and revealed the black kneeskin she was wearing under her clothes. She'd been using the thing for years now, and it was starting to get a little worn out. They also barely touched her knees, since she had hit her growth spurt limit only last year.<p>

"We could go sometime soon," Makoto said as he stretched his arms. Both he and Haru had taken off their shirts as well and were dressed in their swimsuits, doing a bit of stretching before the swim. "I need to pick up one or two for myself as well."

"Of course you do. That orange swimsuit is hideous." She replied jokingly. Ever since she'd discovered her crush on Makoto, she always got a weird feeling in her stomach when she talked with the boy. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been back when she had liked Haru- she had barely been able to talk to that guy normally- though it was still enough to make her uncomfortable. She just wanted to be able to converse with the boy like she normally did, without feeling like she was gonna throw up from nervousness.

Plus, she really needed to stop noticing how his body was in such great shape. Being a hormonal teenage girl sucked.

"They're not that bad!" Makoto protested.

"They are quite loud." Haruka added.

"Not you too, Haru." Makoto complained.

"Well, you pull it off somewhat. Barely, but you pull it off."

"That isn't very encouraging, Byaku-chan."

"Was it supposed to be?"

Makoto sighed, and decided to revert back to the topic at hand. "Anyway, Haru. Do you need to pick up a new swimsuit too?"

"Maybe." The boy responded.

"I doubt it. I think you have at least three pairs in your closet, Haru-kun." Byakuya said jokingly.

"Five." He corrected.

"What?"

"I have five pairs."

Byakuya blanched while Makoto just laughed. Haruka just looked unamused and somewhat perplexed at their reactions. Had he said something funny?

As the three of them conversed idly, Kou stood by the sidelines as she ogled all the muscular men in the indoor pool.

'Easy to see they're from a champion school,' she thought to herself as she swooned. 'But ours are just as good!' She blushed as she looked at the fit figures of Haruka and Makoto. For two guys who hadn't been swimming since middle school, they were in excellent shape. She vaguely noted that Byakuya was pretty well-toned as well, but she hardly registered that fact as she continued staring at all the males.

"Hey," a voice Kou had become familiar with suddenly called out, catching everyone's attention. They turned around to see the tall redheaded figure of Seijuuro Mikoshiba, the captain of Samezuka's swim team. He grinned as he approached them. "Thanks for coming!"

The six of them smiled- well, except Haru- and they bowed towards the captain. "Thank you very much!" They said gratefully. And indeed they were; it wasn't every day another school got to train with the swim team of such an impressive academy.

"No problem." Seijuuro responded humbly before turning to Haruka. "You're Nanase-kun, right?"

The stoic boy nodded in confirmation. Seijuuro seemed impressed at this and smiled as he continued appraisingly. "You won a bunch of regional tournaments in grade school!"

"Yeah..." Haruka responded. He was quite used to being praised for his swimming talent, but since he never really cared about his achievements, they never really mattered to him. That didn't mean he didn't appreciate it, though. He did, but just not much.

"You may not remember, but when you won the Iwatobi regional, I came in second. I still remember how you beat me on the 50m turn. Left me in the dust, you did." He said admiringly. Haruka must have left quite an impression on him for the older boy to remember that incident so many years ago; though it wasn't surprising- Haruka's swimming was absolutely unique. It was difficult for anyone who had seen him in action to forget what a sight the Nanase boy made.

"And you..." Mikoshiba said suddenly, turning to face Byakuya.

"Uhm, yeah?" The girl responded nervously. The captain of one of Japan's best swim teams was talking to her, and Byakuya couldn't help but feel somewhat meek in his presence.

"You're Byakuya Shion, isn't that right?" When the girl nodded, he grinned. "I thought you looked familiar; you and your brother won quite a few tournaments back then. Really admired your mom, by the way; Mikasa Shion was a fantastic swimmer." Here, he sobered up a bit. "I'm sorry about her passing; losing a parent can't easy."

Byakuya was surprised for a moment, but smiled thinly and bowed her head politely. "Thank you for your regards. I am glad my mother left such a good impression before her departure."

It was the standard answer, one Byakuya always used over and over again whenever someone spoke about her mom. While Byakuya loved her mother dearly, it was still uncomfortable feeling whenever she did something on her own and her mother was brought up. It made her feel... unworthy. Like she wasn't good enough on her own.

Before the conversation could continue, however, a flash of scarlet caught Byakuya's eye. She started and gazed intensely at the teenager with the head of maroon hair standing behind Seijuuro, eyes widening in surprise. It was him.

"Rin-kun." she said. That caught everyone's attention immediately and they all focused their attention on the boy whose name she had called out.

Rin had already spotted them first, and had stopped his conversation with the lavender-haired boy he had been conversing with. He glared intensely at Haru- If looks could kill, Haruka would be dead a hundred times over. It was like all Rin could see was the raven-haired boy, and none of the others mattered... not his old friends; not even his little sister.

"Onii-chan!" Kou cried out happily as she spotted her big brother. She ran up to the boy who looked so much like her and stood in front of him with her hands clasped together eagerly. She was ecstatic to finally get a glimpse of her big brother, and she was eager to talk with him. She had missed his company dearly- absence really did make the heart grow fonder.

"Gou. What are you trying to do?" Rin asked simply, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. Kou's happy expression started to fall slightly, but that was when Nagisa stepped in.

"Rin-chan! We get to swim together again!" He said enthusiastically. "Let's have fun today!"

Byakuya smiled at the boy. He really was much more observant than he let on. He'd pretty much stepped up to defend Kou in his own way- by interrupting when he did, he had kept Rin from possibly hurting Kou's feelings with his cold response. Byakuya was pretty certain at this point that Nagisa was secretly a little blonde knight in shining armor. Kou seemed to notice it too, and shot Nagisa a grateful look.

"Together?" Rin scoffed. "You guys are a waste of my time."

The crimson-haired boy turned away abruptly and started walking towards the locker rooms, leaving behind a group of very startled and confused teens.

"What's up with him?" Rei asked curiously. The redhead that had just left seemed like he had a major attitude problem, and Rei wasn't quite happy with the way he had spoken to Kou; especially if she was the guy's sister. The bluenette had rather high morals, and often did his best to be polite to others. To see another person act so stand-offish to a girl- a younger sibling at that- made Rei less than impressed with his behaviour.

"Yeah, there's some history there." Makoto replied, not really wanting to explain further. Rei understood though, it was obvious that none of them really wanted to elaborate on it, given the Matsuoka boy's stiff attitude towards them.

"Onii-chan..." Kou muttered quietly, staring after her brother. She sounded so confused and stunned, something in Byakuya flared up.

Without even thinking twice, the dark-haired girl strode forth to catch up to Rin and grabbed his arm, ignoring her friends' protest. The boy started for a moment and stopped in his tracks as he glared at the girl. She looked him straight in the eye, not relenting as she met his hard gaze.

"What do you think you're doing?" He hissed. Rin was surprised, he hadn't been expecting anyone- let alone Byakuya, who normally kept her nose out of these things- to just step up to him like that.

"That's your sister, Rin-kun." Byakuya replied calmly, though her voice was stern. "I don't know what's up with you, but she's your family. Treat her like it."

Rin seemed startled at her words, but before he could respond, she released his arm, turning on her heel and walked away. The boy just grit his teeth in irritation and simply turned back to continue on his way. He tried to brush off the girl's words, but found himself thinking on it much more than he should have.

Byakuya took a deep breath as she walked back to her group. She didn't know what had posessed her to confront Rin like that, but she was glad she did. That was something she had wanted to get off her chest for a while now, but she still had so much more she wanted to say to him, so many questions to ask and things she wanted to know... but she didn't know how to put them forth. So she would bide her time. She kept her head high as she returned, crossing her arms in an attempt to appear nonchalant.

"How will this training session go?" She asked immediately, directing the question at Seijuuro as she stoically ignored the inquisitive glances her friends shot her. The captain seemed startled at the sudden change of topic, but regained his composure as he answered.

"I was thinking you could practice with our first-years today." He responded, an enthusiastic grin appearing on his face. Said first-years were already gathered behind him, waiting for their captain's orders- as expected of an elite swimming team.

"Whaddya say to that, captain?" Byakuya said as she nudged Makoto playfully. The tall boy blinked for a moment, still not quite used to his title as Captain of the Iwatobi Swim Team, but responded evenly.

"That's fine with us."

Seijuuro clapped his hands at his answer, clearly excited about this session. He spoke loudly and with confidence. "Okay! Let's start with individual time trials!"

"Yes, Captain Mikoshiba!" They all responded. It was on.

"So, who goes first?" Makoto asked as he faced his team.

"You're the captain, Mako-chan! I think you should take the lead." Nagisa replied, nearly bouncing on his feet in excitement. He was really looking forward to swimming with his friends again; even if it wasn't in a relay or anything big.

"Fair enough." The olive-haired boy said. "The rest of you guys?"

"I will go last." Haruka responded.

"Last?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow. She had expected the boy to volunteer for the very first swim; it was obvious he couldn't wait, so what brought the change?

The others seemed surprised as well, but made no move to inquire further. "Alright then. Nagisa, would you like to go second?"

"No problem!" The boy said cheerily.

"Byaku-chan, you okay with going third?"

"...Yes." Byakuya answered, albeit hesitantly. She was still pretty nervous about the whole ordeal, but she would do her best for her team.

"That's settled then. Let's go with that order." Makoto finished.

"Right!" The others responded.

"You there." Seijuuro called out suddenly, referring to Rei. The bluenette started slightly at being addressed. "Get into your swimsuit."

"Uh," Rei responded hesitantly. "I'm not-"

"Sorry! He forgot to bring his swimsuit!" Nagisa cut in abruptly. That boy really knew when to step in when the need arose for it.

"What? Then why is he here then?" Seijuuro sighed. He took swimming his swimming very seriously, and such a careless mistake on the boy's part disappointed him somewhat. "You can use one of our spare swimsuits; so go get changed!"

"Huh?" Nagisa exclaimed. He hadn't been expecting that.

"Hey, Nitori!" The Samezuka captain barked out.

"Yes!" A lavender-haired boy responded immediately and jogged up to Rei. Byakuya noted that the boy was the one that had been conversing with Rin before they had interrupted. "Come with me." He told the bespectacled boy.

"Uh, I'm not-"

"Hurry up!" The boy- Nitori- interrupted Rei before he could protest and dragged him along by the arm. He was quite dedicated and loyal when it came to obeying orders, it would seem, and wouldn't take "no" for an answer.

"Uh-oh..." Nagisa said, eyes wide as they all watched the Ryugazaki boy get pulled along by Nitori, protesting all the while.

"You got that right." Byakuya muttered.

* * *

><p>"The deal was that I wouldn't have to swim." Rei said, clearly miffed. The boy had returned with Nitori after several minutes, and what he was clad in...well...<p>

Byakuya was trying very hard not to laugh. Rei was wearing a blue speedo, and just looked more uncomfortable than she'd ever seen him before. It was evident that Ryugazaki was trying very hard to keep up his cool front, determined not to let his discomfort show. Really, that boy was far too dignified.

The bluenette glared at his female senior as a snort escaped her lips. Shion had her hands clamped over her mouth in a useless attempt to restrain her amusement. She shot him an apologetic glance when she caught his glare, and moved to hide behind Tachibana to avoid his gaze. The taller boy just chuckled before he ruffled her hair and headed towards the starting block. Even though Rei had only just gotten to know the peculiar bunch of the Iwatobi Swim Team, it was evident that they were all very close. They all seemed to have their own individual relationships with each other, yet they got along perfectly well as a group, too. It was a rather interesting relationship they had, to say the least.

"Don't worry. These time trials are just for practice, so it doesn't matter if you're slow." Nagisa reassured the bespectacled boy.

"That's not the point!" Rei retorted, getting more and more annoyed.

"Oh, it's Mako-chan's turn." Nagisa commented as the olive-haired boy put on his swim cap and goggles before stepping onto the starting platform.

"Are you even listening?!" Rei exclaimed. Really, his classmate had the attention span of a teaspoon...

As Byakuya stood by the sidelines and watched as Mako got ready to start his lap, a small gasp of surprise from Kou- who she had been standing next to- caught her attention. She looked to her left to see the younger girl gazing up at the indoor balcony of the pool and curiously followed her gaze. With a start, she noted that Rin was leaning against the railing, observing the swimmers.

"Rin-kun's still here?" Byakuya said in surprise. Kou glanced back at her senior.

"Looks like he's curious about how this will go." Kou commented, twirling her pen nervously.

"Probably to observe Haru's progress." Byakuya said quietly, glancing back at the raven-haired teen. Just then, the starting whistle blew, snapping her attention back to the pool. Makoto and another swimmer from Samezuka jumped off the starting blocks, diving into the water. Byakuya eyes followed the two, paying particularly close attention to Makoto. Amidst the more technical observations she was making, she couldn't help but note how Makoto's stroke was still the same, even after all these years. Rough, yet dynamic; it was rather effective for competitive swimming. Not nearly as graceful as Haru's strokes- no one could possibly look better at swimming than that boy- but still, it had its own appeal to the onlooker.

...Was it just her or did her heart rate just shoot up again?

"Byakuya-senpai..." Kou said suddenly, snapping the dark-haired girl out of her speculations. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but... I just want to say thank you. For what you did earlier."

"Eh?"

"When you spoke to Rin just now. I didn't really hear what you said, and I know it's a little foolish of me to assume that it was for my benefit, but... thank you. For trying to help my brother." She said sincerely, looking Byakuya straight in the eye.

The Shion girl couldn't help but notice that Kou had the same ruby eyes as Rin. The same eyes, yet the emotions shining in them were completely different.

Could Rin still look that way?

"...It was nothing, Kou-san." Byakuya responded simply, returning her gaze to the swimmers. She couldn't bring herself to look at Kou as she flushed slightly in embarassment. "And you're not exactly wrong... I kinda did do it for you."

Kou looked at the tall girl in surprise. She didn't think that Byakuya would actually reassure her like that; the older girl was normally very reserved with her kindness towards people she wasn't familiar with.

Kou slowly began to smile. Maybe... Byakuya was starting to warm up to her. That would be nice; having another girl around would be a nice reprieve from all these testosterone-packed males.

"Kou-chan."

"Huh?"

"Call me Kou-chan." The redheaded girl repeated insistently. Byakuya seemed startled at the request for a moment, but eventually complied and smirked.

"Alright. But then you're gonna have to drop the whole 'senpai' thing. That stuff makes me uncomfortable."

"Eh? But that would be far too informal of me..." Kou started.

"It's either that or I'm gonna stick with 'Kou-san'~" Byakuya teased.

The younger girl giggled and shook her head. "Fine. Byakuya-chan."

"Good, Kou-chan."

The two girls then fell into a comfortable silence as they watched Makoto finish his lap. It was a strange way to start to their camaraderie, but it was a start nonetheless.

Byakuya decided that despite the initial awkwardness, she wouldn't mind making new friends this way. It was sorta fun.

* * *

><p>AN: The scene where Haru volunteers to go last is my own touch on what happened in this episode. It always did surprise me that Haru didn't swim earlier during the joint practice despite how eager he normally is when it comes to swimming. My assumption is that despite his cool behaviour, he was actually timing his turn to swim intentionally so that it would leave a longer lasting impression on Rei. Maybe, maybe not. We will never really know. Haruka is a really interesting character to write, especially since the first few episodes lock us out of his head, so it's pretty much up to us to speculate what he thinks.<p>

The small character analysis of Nagisa in this chapter should be credited to chipofmintchocolate on tumblr. I happened upon one of her blog posts regarding that particular scene, and I found it most insightful. I just had to incorporate it in here somehow. A lot of character insight that I sorta utilized in this fic is based of inspiration from sugarblaster, shameless-fujoshi, flutterwithoutwind and brumalbreeze (all of whom have really great posts regarding insight on Free. Such feels. qwq), just to clarify that. Some of it is my own interpretation, but it was mostly thanks to the posts from the people I mentioned above that inspired me to try my hand at fanfiction. I hope I did okay :p

Shout out to NotSauron for reviewing, aoa1012 for following this fic, midnight03 for faving, following and reviewing this story, Thug Seme Senpai (your name omg xD) for following and faving, and invisible-gurl for adding this fic to your favourites! Thank you all so much, and I hope you enjoy the story thus far!

See ya'll next chapter!


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

"I'm up next!" Nagisa said cheerily as he put on his swim cap and goggles. The younger boy stepped up onto the starting block along with another Samezuka first-year, getting ready for their turn as the two starting swimmers made the final turn.

The moment Makoto's hand slapped the wall, Nagisa moved into the starting position and waited for Seijuuro's call.

"Ready..."

The whistle blew. Nagisa dove off into the water.

"Keep it coming!" Mikoshiba hollered. "Next swimmer, get ready!"

'My turn, then...' Byakuya thought to herself. She took a deep breath as she put on her swim cap. She always got far too nervous when she swam in front of other people; and she dearly hoped she would be able to do this properly.

"Go get em, Byakuya-chan!" Kou cheered, bringing the Byakuya out of her thoughts. The dark-haired girl gave Kou a small smile over her shoulder as she walked towards the starting platform. She reassured herself that it would turn out okay- if she had gotten over her apprehension of returning to her old swim club on her own, then she could do the same here. She had to try.

As she walked past Makoto, he gave her a pat on the shoulder and shot her a comforting smile. Though they only shared a brief glance, Byakuya could tell that Makoto was giving her his full support- the boy didn't need her to even say anything about her worries; he always knew what she was feeling and how to reassure her.

Hoo boy. She was falling hard.

"Ah, Byakuya-kun. Nitori, you're up too. Get ready." Seijuuro said. The two who were addressed nodded curtly and stepped onto the starting block, pulling their goggles on and getting into the starting positions as the previous two swimmers made their last turn.

Nagisa, surprisingly, was able to make it back in a shorter time than the other Samezuka student. It was quite an achievement for the boy, and he grinned up at Byakuya. She smiled back before she heard the signal for her to get ready. Her attention sharpened instinctively, and her leg muscles coiled.

The moment the whistle sounded, she leapt off.

Her entry angle wasn't perfect, but her dive was still good enough. Byakuya didn't bother to try and see how Nitori had entered; that wasn't important.

Byakuya's forte was her stroke- despite her low stamina, she had rather strong arms. She made full use of that advantage, making sure to get as much distance with the dolphin kick before before surfacing and beginning the front crawl.

'Byakuya always struggled with the breathing aspect of swimming; she had to consciously remind herself to raise her head for air lest she push too hard and end up short of breath halfway through. It was still something she really needed to work on; dividing her concentration between her movements as well as swimming tended to affect her speed and rhythm. Despite her efforts though, her breathing was still rather irregular.

There- she could see the wall. Pushing herself deeper underwater for a moment, Byakuya spun her body around, feet bracing against the cool wall of the swimming pool before she kicked off, hard. She was starting to feel some slight muscle burn already; despite her strong limbs, she was terribly out of shape. She refused to let herself slow down, though, and pushed herself until the she finally saw the wall of the starting end of the pool.

Byakuya smacked her hand against the wall, breaking the surface of the water. She had been slower than Nitori, but despite her exhaustion...she grinned. She had forgotten how fun it was to swim, how free it felt. It was a feeling she hadn't had since she was a kid.

Man, no wonder Haru couldn't wait for summer.

She raised her head, immediately expecting the familiar sight of her mother reaching out a hand to her... but she wasn't there. Byakuya's face fell for a moment as a small pang ran through her heart, but her expression quickly became one of surprise when she saw who was standing on the starting block.

"Ryugazaki-san?" She said, startled. She hadn't been expecting that. The boy didn't even glance at her, his eyes fixed on the water. He looked to be deep in thought as he bent into the starting position. It looked like she was gonna get to see Rei swim after all. She was pretty stoked; after how witnessing how beautiful his pole-vaulting was, she was eager to see how he'd swim. Would it be just as beautiful? More, even?

The girl waded to the sidelines, not really bothering to get out of the pool. Despite the small bit of nostalgia at the end of her lap, she realized that she had reacted a lot better than she had expected.

Perhaps the old saying was right- time really did heal all wounds.

"Ready..." Seijuuro called out.

The Ryugazaki boy's form looked great, Byakuya noted appraisingly. Now for the actual swimming...

The Samezuka captain blew the whistle. Both the swimmers leapt off the platforms. For a moment, it looked like everything was going smoothly...

Until in midair, Ryugazaki's jump faltered and he flopped ungracefully into the pool, water splashing everywhere.

Everyone deadpanned. They couldn't quite wrap their heads around what had just happened. They all waited for Rei to surface and continue the swim anyway, despite the initial mess-up.

And waited.

...

They were still waiting.

"U-uhm..." Makoto's face paled slightly. "He hasn't come up..."

Kou took an anxious step forward. "Uh, This looks ba-"

But before she could finish, a flash of black rushed past her. Haruka had reacted instantaneously and dove into the water without hesitation when he realized what was going on. A second later, Byakuya's eyes widened in shock before she started swimming towards the boy as well when she realized the same thing.

Rei couldn't swim.

"Is he okay?!" Seijuuro asked worriedly as he rushed over to their side of the pool as well, ready to dive in himself if necessary.

Thankfully, there was no need for that. The two swimmers surfaced, carrying the Ryugazaki boy to the surface. The bluenette was heaving, but was otherwise okay as his arms were hooked around Haruka and Byakuya's shoulders respectively.

The others let out a collective breath of relief. Rei was alright- thank goodness. However, this situation brought with it a whole new problem entirely...

* * *

><p>"So... Rei-chan..." Nagisa started slowly as he spoke to the brooding bluenette sitting agaist the wall. "...You can't swim?"<p>

They had all taken a short break from the practice to stand by Rei as he recovered from his near-drowning experience. It must've been quite embarassing for the confident boy to have to be saved by someone else- his pride was obviously wounded.

"Yeah..." he replied despondently, before he misinterpreted Nagisa's words and glared at the blonde. "Are you saying that it's my fault? I told you I wasn't going to swim!" He said vehemently, turning his head the other way.

"Woah, woah, slow down there. We didn't say anything of the sort." Byakuya said, raising her hands in a placating manner.

"Don't patronize me!"

"I wasn't patronizing!" Byakuya was appalled. She had absolutely no idea how to handle the situation, and shot a pleading glance at Nagisa. Thankfully, he caught it.

"You really should have said something earlier, Rei-chan." The blonde cut in, his face solemn.

"...I wasn't going to admit that I couldn't swim." Rei said quietly, averting his gaze. It was understandable; he prided himself on his flawless form and his capabilities- to admit such an embarassing fact would be a major blow to his pride. Though, given how that had turned out... it didn't make much of a difference anymore. "That would go against my sense of beauty!" He clenched his fists. This was an absolute disaster.

"Rei-chan..." Nagisa trailed off. As much as he wanted to, he didn't know what to say to comfort the boy.

"I'll clear things up with Samezuka." Makoto said kindly. He could see that the boy was obviously discomforted with everything that had transpired, and he did what he could to reassure him somewhat. "Sorry for forcing you into this situation."

Haruka remained calm throughout the whole thing, and casually put on his swim cap and goggles. Byakuya shot him a glance as he walked past, and realized why he wanted to go last.

He wanted to show Rei what he was capable of at the right time- the icing on the cake.

"Knock em dead, Haru-kun." She said, giving him a small, encouraging smile. Haruka just nodded in affirmation and headed towards the starting block.

"Oh, it's Haru's turn to swim." Makoto commented as they all watched the raven-haired boy step onto the diving platform and get into the starting position.

"This is where the show begins, Ryugazaki-san. You might wanna see this." Byakuya said to the bluenette, never taking her eyes off Haru. Rei looked up when she said that, also fixing his attention on the stoic senior.

"Ready..." Seijuuro called, alerting the swimmers.

"Set..."

Haru's legs tensed as he prepared for the signal.

The whistle sounded, and Haruka dove in barely a millisecond after. Byakuya smirked to herself as she watched Haru dive in- a perfect entry. She could hear Rei's sharp intake of breath as well at the sight of Haruka's beautiful dive, and she allowed her smirk to grow.

"It's so beautiful to watch!" Nagisa enthused as Haruka began the starting dolphin kick. Rei just stood up wordlessly, staring at the sight before him.

"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked in concern.

"No...It's just that..." Rei trailed off. He was absolutely stunned This was...

Nagisa grinned at the boy's response; he knew Rei would understand once he saw Haru in action. "See, I told you so! Haru-chan is an amazing swimmer!"

The bespectacled boy started at his classmate's statement for a bit before turning back to the swimming teen. Such beautiful strokes and kicks... it was nothing like he had ever seen. His entire view on swimming changed drastically in that moment.

'He doesn't use theory.' Rei though to himself in awe. The older boy looked like he wasn't even trying at all; like he was one with the water. Like a fish in the ocean, he swam like it was second nature. 'No calculation either. He has something much stronger... that I do not.'

As Haruka slapped his hand against the wall, signaling the end of his lap, Rei stared on in amazement. He still couldn't believe what he had witnessed.

'Can I...' Rei's grip on his wrist tightened as his eyes became determined. 'Can I learn to swim like that?'

'Got him. Hook, line and sinker.' Byakuya covered her smirk with the back of her hand.

* * *

><p>"81 seconds on my 100m free..." Byakuya muttered to herself, frowning. Her time had really gone down; she used to be able to complete these in slightly over a minute. She shoved her free hand into her pants pocket, dissatisfied with the result. "I'm really out of it."<p>

"Well, if you guys have been out of practice for as long as you said you have, it's only natural to have slowed down. Besides, your times are still in the average zone, so it's not too bad." Seijuuro commented, taking back the clipboard with all their times recorded on it. Training had just ended, and Byakuya had been the first to change back into her dry clothes before the others did.

"Still, Haru's the only one with consistent above average times so far... it's not gonna be easy for all of us to get back into shape." Byakuya sighed.

"Well, you guys are just gonna have to push, then. You're not gonna have too much time to improve, but you could still do it." Seijuuro replied.

"I've already taken down the times, too!" Kou announced, brandishing her own notebook. "I'm gonna try to think up some new training routines for us to do in the summer, but I'm sorta new to this, so..."

"I could help you out!" Seijuuro interjected immediately, grinning. "How do you plan to go about this? Thrice a week? Four times?"

"Well, I already planned out the scheduled dates and all, but I'm still not sure what to assign..."

"Already have the days planned out? Heh, so you're both cute and an effective manager. You wanna hang out sometime?"

"Uhm, thank you, Mikoshiba-san. But could we get back to the topic at hand...?"

Byakuya smirked as the Matsuoka girl flushed slightly at the Samezuka captain's compliment. Seijuuro obviously thought Kou attractive, which wasn't a surprise. The girl was rather pretty, and she had an innocent sort of allure that attracted the attention of the opposite gender without her even trying. Byakuya would be lying if she said she said she wasn't at least a little bit envious of the maroon-haired girl.

Before she could pursue that train of thought, however, something caught her attention. She turned her gaze towards the lavender-haired boy- Nitori, if she remembered correctly- who was talking to Rin again at the far end of the pool. He looked to be trying to make conversation, but Rin barely responded to him and simply walked away, leaving the younger boy staring after him, an almost regretful expression in his face.

The gears in Byakuya's head started turning. She thought about her plan for a moment before excusing herself and striding towards the boy.

"Uh, excuse me... Nitori-san, right?" Byakuya called out hesitantly. This was just the same as that time when she had called up Nagisa- she was acting on impulse, and it made her extremely jittery. The boy started at being addressed, but immediately turned his attention to the older girl.

"Yes, senpai?"

"Well, I'm sorry for intruding, and I know this is sudden, but..." Byakuya trailed off for a moment. She didn't want to "blabber on", as Nagisa had put it, so she thought her question over before presenting it. It was sort of naive of her to make such a large assumption just from one small observation, but she tried anyway. "Nitori-san, are you... friends with Rin-kun?"

"Eh?" The lavender-haired boy was taken aback at the question; he hadn't been expecting that. He scratched his cheek nervously as he thought up his response. "Um, well, we're roommates, and we're on the same swim team, but I don't think Matsuoka-senpai considers me his friend..."

"But do you think of him as one?" Byakuya inquired. She recognized the boy's hesitation all too well; she had done the same thing when Coach Sasabe had put forth that question to her too.

The boy blinked for a moment, before nodding his head. Despite Rin's cold demeanour and generally rude attitude, Nitori didn't dislike his senior at all. He greatly admired Rin for his great skills, and he could never forget the image of him as a kid during the tournament all those years ago, looking so carefree and joyful. Rin's rough attitude now was difficult to get used to- but Nitori was willing to try. He was a kind and understanding boy, always eager to please, and he truly wanted to be able to befriend the mysterious senior.

"Then that's enough." Byakuya reassured. It was something she had thought long and hard about ever since Coach Sasabe had the question, and that had been the answer she had come to. It didn't matter if Rin didn't think of them as his friends anymore- to them, he would always be.

"I know it's sudden of me to ask this, but..." Byakuya continued, fidgeting slightly. "Please, Nitori-san... keep an eye on Rin-kun. Don't... don't let him do anything stupid."

Nitori was even more startled at the Shion girl's new request. However, as he understood the girl's concern, he smiled and nodded his head. "I understand, Shion-senpai. Don't worry, I'll keep tabs on Matsuoka-senpai for you!" He said determinedly.

Byakuya flushed slightly and scratched her head. She was still rather awkward with starting such a serious conversation with someone she had just met, but it was for a good reason. She fished around in her pockets for a bit before taking out her phone and handing it to him. "You mind giving me your contact, Nitori-san? Y'know, to keep me up-to-date on Rin's condition, and all..."

"Ah, okay." Nitori accepted and gave his own cell a missed call before returning the phone to the older girl.

"Thank you. And um, I don't think I caught your full name...?"

"It's Aiichirou. Aiichirou Nitori."

"Right. Byakuya Shion. Pleasure to meet you, Nitori-san." She responded, holding out her hand and smiling. "I do hope we get along."

"Me too, Shion-senpai!" Nitori replied, smiling back and shaking her hand firmly. That was the beginning of the strange alliance between the two teens, both of whom cared for and were willing to help out a certain Rin Matsuoka in their own ways. It wasn't going to be easy, they both knew, but they were willing to try anyway.

After all, that was what friends were for.

* * *

><p>The following Monday, the members of the swim team sat on the bench by the sidelines of the track field, making idle conversation as they watched Rei prepare for his turn on the pole vault again. The boy hadn't spoken much on their way back from Samezuka after the training session, and they were all rather concerned and curious about his well-being, leading to their presence here now.<p>

"You still haven't given up yet?" The teacher in charge of the track team said in surprise as he observed Rei doing his stretches.

"Of course not." The boy replied, though his tone held no indignance.

"Gee, such confidence that teacher has in his students." Byakuya muttered. Kou couldn't help but nod slightly in agreement at the comment.

"But still," Nagisa mused as they watched the bluenette respond eagerly to his teacher's call. "It looks like Rei-chan is feeling a lot better."

The Ryugazaki boy stood up and readied his pole. Out of habit, he nearly started calculating formulas in his head, but stopped himself abruptly.

'No theory... no calculation.' He thought to himself, remembering the way Haruka had looked as he swam through the pool. 'Be free!'

He ran without hesitation. As his pole hit the landing box, his momentum lifted him off the ground and into the sky. His form was flawless, as always, but right at the peak of his jump...

"What?!"

The five onlookers started in surprise as Rei suddenly ignored all semblance of perfect form and spread his arms and legs wide, as if he was embracing the sky.

It would have been a lot more impressive if he hadn't clattered onto the landing mat like a stone, the pole falling onto him and his goggles flying off his face. A couple of the other track team members had to help him get back onto his feet.

"He fell." Makoto said, sweatdropping.

"...Well, at least he's trying." Byakuya said, albeit unsurely.

"Ah, wait. He's coming this way." Nagisa pointed out. Sure enough, Rei was walking right towards them, his posture casual yet purposeful; as if the earlier mess-up hadn't occured at all.

He stopped right in front of their bench, making direct eye contact with Haruka as he spoke. "I want to be like you, Nanase-senpai."

Haruka blinked his sapphire eyes in surprise, but didn't let it show too obviously. "What do you mean?"

"I want that kind of freedom." Rei said humbly.

"It's not freedom." Haruka responded tonelessly. His response garnered confused and surprised looks from everyone, not just the bluenette. "It's freestyle." He explained.

"Fr-freestyle..." Rei stuttered, seeing, yet not quite understanding the difference. However, he pushed up his glasses as he regained his composure.

"In any case, would like to formally..." Here, he took a deep breath, before bowing towards the group seated on the bench. "Join the swim club!"

They were all taken aback, yet pleased at the boy's sudden declaration. "What? For real?" Nagisa exclaimed.

Haruka simply turned his head and looked away. "If you want to swim, then go ahead." He said neutrally. To any other person, it would look like he was extremely nonchalant about the whole thing, but his friends knew that he was rather pleased at this new development as well.

"That's that, then!"

"Yep!"

"Oh yeah, suck on that, 5 person rule!"

"Haru-chan!"

"However..." Rei interrupted, gaining their attentions yet again. The boy turned his violet gaze to Nagisa, who seemed rather surprised at being addressed personally by the boy. "You were the one who initially asked me to join, so I expect you to take full responsibility..."

The boy trailed off and broke his gaze from the blonde, staring off somewhere else as he flushed slightly in embarassment. He couldn't believe he was actually going to say it...

"...Nagisa-kun." He finished awkwardly.

Nagisa's pink eyes widened in surprise, but his expression immediately shifted into one of pure joy. He leapt off his seat and practically jumped onto Rei as he tossed an arm around the taller boy's shoulder.

"Sure! You can count on me!" He proclaimed enthusiastically.

"H-hey, watch it!" Rei said as he stumbled, his face growing redder. He wasn't quite used to being on such friendly terms with others, it would seem.

Byakuya laughed as she observed the scene before her, exchanging small glances of happiness between the rest of her teammates. When she caught Makoto's eye, he raised a teasing eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes at his silent statement, knowing full well what he was trying to say- with the sight before her now, it wasn't too difficult to imagine Nagisa and Rei being best friends, despite what she'd said earlier that week.

It wasn't too bad of a picture, really.

* * *

><p>AN: I absolutely love the relationship Rei and Nagisa share. It's just so nice how they balance each other out. (I secretly curse the fact that Nagisa isn't a girl. The ship could have had a higher chance of becoming legitimately canon haha!) The same goes for Haru and Mako's friendship. The relationships in this anime are just so perfect I can't handle it (I also secretly curse the fact that Rin doesn't have a legit partner in the Iwatobi group *sob* but he does have Nitori, which counts for something xD) And yes, I will be including some Nitori spotlight in this fic, because he is yet another wonderful character, plus he doesn't get enough love, haha! Also, I do apologize for the long ANs sometimes; I've started to reply to revews via PM to shorten these things, but somehow they still end up pretty long XD<p>

Many thanks to Starzway and shotasayswhat (I swear, some of you guys have the greatest pen names xD) for following this fic! I hope you guys like it so far!

See ya'll next water time!


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Byaku-chan..."

A muffled groan.

"Byaku-chan, it's time to get up."

"I don't want any girl scout cookies." Byakuya responded blearily. She obviously still wasn't quite awake yet.

Makoto sighed as he shook his head, smiling kindly. He had arrived at Byakuya's house that morning to pick her up like her normally did, but she hadn't responded when he rang the doorbell. Thankfully, he knew where she kept her spare keys, and had used them to get in. Byakuya had been fast asleep on the couch of her living room, dressed in her school uniform. From the looks of it, she had indeed gotten up earlier to get ready for school, but had knocked out again. She had the weirdest sleeping habits.

He shook her shoulder gently, trying not to wake her up too violently. She finally stirred as she rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up, blinking to adjust her vision. When she finally focused on Makoto...

"You're not a girl scout." She deadpanned. Makoto laughed at her ridiculous statement and ruffled her already messy hair. She weakly swatted his hand away.

"No, but I think I'd look pretty good in a skirt." He joked lightly.

"I really didn't need that mental image of drag queen Makoto first thing in the morning." She mumbled out, rubbing her forehead.

"Am I a handsome drag queen, at least?"

That made Byakuya laugh as well. It was such a ridiculous thought.

"You're always handsome." She responded without thinking.

When she registered what she'd said though, she clamped her hands over her mouth, her eyes widening. Had she really let that slip out?

Judging from Makoto's flustered expression, she supposed she had. Dammit. Well this got awkward real fast.

As she nervously studied the walls of her house, she suddenly felt something being placed into her palms. The girl looked down to see Makoto pressing a flask into her hands.

"I was prepared for something like this to happen." He said kindly, avoiding- thank goodness- the matter of Byakuya's slip of the tongue. "So I made some coffee this morning for you. Haru's probably not ready yet either, and we're waiting for him by the steps today; so take your time."

Byakuya turned her brown eyes up to meet Makoto's green ones, and couldn't help but flush slightly as she noticed how close they were. The butterflies that suddenly appeared in her stomach were enough to wake her up, and she nodded silently in thanks as she practically chugged down the coffee. Man, she was hooked on this stuff.

Plus, the feeling of the hot liquid burning her throat was enough to take her mind of her nervousness. Really, she was such a girl.

* * *

><p>Byakuya giggled as she sat on the neighbourhood steps, watching Makoto play with Shiro-chan- the little white kitten from the other day- with a long strand of cattail. The little kitten was watching the moving plant intently, occasionally trying to pounce on the thing. Makoto always moved it away at the last second though, so the weed would always slip through the kitten's tiny paws at the last second. It was just too adorable.<p>

"Stop teasing the poor baby." Byakuya lectured playfully from her seat on the step just below Makoto. The boy simply raised a brow at her, and flicked his wrist again as Shiro-chan tried to grab at the cattail. The cheeky bastard.

"You idiot." Byakuya laughed as she shoved him playfully. It barely moved the large boy, but he relented as he finally kept the plant still enough for Shiro-chan to get a hold on it. The cat meowed in victory and starting biting the long stalk immediately, earning another adoring look from Byakuya.

"Oh, you're adorable. Isn't she just the prettiest thing you've ever seen, Mako?" The girl cooed, scratching the cat behind its ears. She giggled girlishly as the cat abandoned its previous win over the cattail and rubbed itself against her hand. If there was one thing Byakuya absolutely could not resist despite her boyish nature, it was cute things. And Shiro-chan definitely fit in that category.

"Yeah. She is." Makoto responded quietly. Unbeknownst to Byakuya, Mako wasn't paying attention to the cat at all. Instead, he fixed his gentle gaze on the dark-haired girl, a small smile playing on his lips. He always liked to see Byakuya looking so happy...she looked nice when she smiled.

"Aww, you hear that, Shiro-chan? Mako thinks so too!" Byakuya said lovingly, tickling the kitten under its chin.

Makoto just shook his head at her obliviousness. If only she knew.

The sound of footsteps from higher up the staircase they were sitting on caught their attentions. The two teens looked up to see Haruka at the top of the stairs, staring down at them neutrally. Makoto stood up and brushed himself off, Byakuya following suit.

"Good morning!" They both greeted the raven-haired teen.

"Today's the big day, Haru." Makoto continued, smiling happily at his best friend.

Haruka just nodded in acknowledgement, but in truth, he was pretty excited. He couldn't wait- after all, today was the day for the very first official Iwatobi Swim Club meeting.

* * *

><p>"Okay!" Kou announced enthusiastically as she stood in front of the five members of the swim team. She brandished a piece of paper on which several notes were scribbled as she spoke. "We now officially have 5 members on the team, and it's starting to warm up outside now, so we will finally start training in the pool tod-"<p>

But before she could finish her sentence, a blur of black and blue rushed past the girl and dove into the pool behind her. Kou's brow twitched as she spun around and saw Haruka swimming in the pool without bothering to hear what she had to say.

"Hold on! Could you at least listen to what I have to say first, Haruka-senpai?" She cried out, dropping the sheet of paper she had as she rushed to the edge of the pool. "Please, Haruka-senpai?!"

She was completely ignored. Byakuya gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

Rei, who had seen Kou drop the paper she had been holding, bent down to pick it up again. As he did so, he looked over its contents, and what he saw made him pause in confusion.

"Are these formulas?" He asked, perplexed. There were several numbers scribbled across the page, along with words like "Kb" or "W-Up" and the like. It definitely didn't look like any formula he'd seen before.

"Where?" Makoto asked as he peered over Rei's shoulder, wondering what the boy was talking about. Rei graciously showed Makoto the piece of paper and the older boy's brows raised in recognition.

"Oh." He said. It was understandable that Rei wouldn't be familiar with all the regular terms used in swimming. Makoto patiently proceeded to explain each individual meaning of the abbreviations on the sheet.

Nagisa had by this time walked over as well just as Mako finished explaining the ethics of a relay medley to Rei.

"There are also swimmers who use the butterfly stroke." The blonde boy pointed out.

"Butterfly stroke?" Rei inquired. That was certainly an interesting name for a swimming style.

"Yep." Nagisa replied as he stood up and turned back to their club manager. "But anyway... this is a pretty solid training regimen. Did you come up with this by yourself, Gou-chan?"

"Can you stop calling me Gou?" The girl sighed exasperatedly before relenting. "Forget it. I found that when I was cleaning the house. It's my brother's old regimen." She said casually.

On the other side of the pool, Haruka paused slightly at the mention of the Matsuoka boy. The way Kou had said that...

"My brother's old regimen."

...It was another reminder of the new changes that time had brought.

* * *

><p>Rei muttered methodically to himself as he performed his warm-up stretches, going into some rather peculiar positions as he did so. Byakuya watched in fascination as the boy did so, impressed at his flexibility. She herself was about as flexible as a toothpick- which is to say, not at all. It was rather interesting to see which muscles worked with each different stretch- Rei really knew his stuff.<p>

As this was going on, Haruka was standing by the edge of the pool, reading the training regimen that Kou had found for them. He was going over it so intently that he barely noticed as Kou walked up to him, giving him an inquisitive glance.

"Are you that interested?" She asked. At the boy's confused expression, she elaborated. "In my brother's old training regimen?"

Haruka paused for a bit before he answered.

"Not really." He replied. It wasn't a lie; he wasn't all that interested in the regimen itself. Rather, he was more keen on seeing how much work Rin had put into his swimming back then. The workout planned on that paper was pretty intense- especially if what Kou said was true, and that it was planned out by Rin as a kid. It was... nostalgic, almost.

"You can write down a regimen and not follow it." Haruka continued, pushing the paper back into Kou's hands before placing his goggles and swim cap over his head. Now, here he was just trying to fool himself, he knew. Rin had been extremely passionate about his dream of becomi an Olympic swimmer, and if he had written this down, he had most probably followed it- right down to the last stroke. Possibly more.

Pushing all those thought to the back of his mind, Haruka got onto the starting block and dove straight into the pool again, not waiting for Kou's response.

The girl just stared after the stoic boy with a perplexed expression in her face before she broke out into an exasperated smile.

"So he is interested." She sighed, smiling to herself.

"Already learning to read the subtle body language of our resident dolphin, huh?" Byakuya commented jokingly as she walked past the younger girl, also putting on her swimming accessories.

"Well, you get used to it after a while." Kou said, smiling as she gazed at Haruka's flawless swimming form.

Sometimes, the Nanase boy was a lot easier to read than he thought.

* * *

><p>"S-so cold." Nagisa shivered as he clung to the edge of the pool, his body already submerged in the cool waters.<p>

"I can't feel my legs." Byakuya whined, grasping onto the edge of the pool as well.

Makoto- who had gone in with them earlier as well- lifted himself slowly out of the pool, his body aching from the freezing temperature of the water.

"It's still pretty cold." Mako agreed as he stood back up on land. Nagisa turned his gaze towards his blue-haired classmate, who was still doing his stretches.

"Rei-chan! You're still stretching?" Nagisa called out as he, too, got out of the pool and approached the Ryugazaki boy.

"I want to be as safe as possible." The boy justified, not lifting himself out of his stretch.

"You gonna be okay?" Makoto asked. "You can take it slow..."

"There's no need to worry." Rei reassured as he straightened back up. He smirked victoriously at the two who were talking to him as he removed his glasses.

"I already mastered the theory behind swimming the over the past few days!" He proclaimed as he pulled his goggles over his eyes. "I won't embarass myself again!"

"You'll get it." Byakuya reassured. "Swimming is easy once you get the hang of the basics."

"I will perform flawlessly, just you wait." Rei announced as he put on his swim cap and stepped up onto the diving platform. The rest of the swim club members watched intently as he got into the starting position.

'Ryugazaki-san...' Byakuya was intrigued as to how Rei's study on theory would affect his performance.

'Rei...' Makoto was concerned that another incident like the one that happened at Samezuka would repeat again.

'Rei-chan...' Nagisa was rather excited to see how this would turn out; he had the utmost confidence in Rei's ability.

'Biceps!' Kou was still trying to get used to seeing the upper half of the male anatomy, but she was still interested in seeing the newest member's performance nonetheless.

Haruka stayed silent at the other end of the pool, his expression carefully blank.

Rei's knees bent slightly as he prepared to dive into the water. He leapt into the air and...

Flopped into the water like a stone.

The others all watched on, sweatdropping as Rei attempted to kick his legs, but it did no good- he wasn't surfacing.

The bespectacled boy shot up immediately, standing on the floor of the pool as he gasped for air.

"I think you need to start by learning how to swim." Nagisa pointed out. As if it wasn't already obvious...

* * *

><p>"Let's start with the turtle float." Makoto said to Rei as the two of them, Byakuya and Nagisa stood in the centre if the pool. They were going to start with the basics to see which areas they needed to work on.<p>

"I'll demonstrate it for you!" Nagisa said cheerily as he put on his own goggles and lowered himself into the water.

"You hug your knees to your chest and relax." Makoto explained as Nagisa performed the float for Rei to see.

"...It's not beautiful." Rei stated, somewhat upset at having to do something that looked so... plain.

"Just give it a try." Makoto suggested.

"How does this work?" Rei asked as he put on his goggles.

"If your muscles are tensed, you'll sink deeper because your body will weigh more than the weight of water displaced. Archimedes' Law, if you will. Which is why you have to relax." Byakuya explained in detail.

Everyone stared at the girl as if she had grown a third head.

"...I do listen in Physics class sometimes, y'know. " She grumbled out.

"R-right..." Rei said, still somewhat stunned at the insightful response Byakuya had given. Surprisingly, it made a lot of sense, and Rei understood it perfectly as he tried out the float.

"So, he can float." Nagisa commented as he observed his classmate.

"Now, slowly extend your arms and legs and try to swim." Makoto urged. The bluenette complied, doing as the older boy had told him to... but he just sank again and had to stand up for air.

"No good." Makoto said, disappointed. He'd thought Rei would have gotten it for sure.

As the four of them conversed and discussed how to help Rei attain swimming abilities, Kou squatted by the side of the pool, idly watching the swimmers as they went about doing their own thing.

Kou turned her gaze to Haruka, who had surfaced not too far away. A question Kou had been meaning to ask popped into her head again, and she decided to take the opportunity.

"Haruka-senpai..." She started slowly, gaining the raven-haired boy's attention. "Why do you swim?"

Haruka seemed mildly surprised at thr question, but calmly met Kou's serious gaze with his own. "I don't have a reason."

Kou nodded in understanding- she'd been expecting that answer. She gazed at the slow lapping of the water against the pool's ledge before she continued. "My brother's dream is to become an Olympic swimmer. That's why he went all the way to Australia to study."

Haruka shut his eyes at the statement, interrupting Kou before she could continue further.

"That's got nothing to do with me." He said curtly. "Besides... it's just a dream."

Kou seemed perturbed at the senior's pessimistic views, but could tell the subject was somewhat touchy for the Nanase boy. Yet, she pushed forth anyway.

"Perhaps." The redhead mused. "But I think he'll be a little closer to his dream if he's with you guys... like that time you swam in the relay together."

Haruka opened his eyes at that, and finally glanced back up at Kou with a hint of surprise. She had sounded so sure, so optimistic... he didn't quite understand how she could be so.

The girl simply smiled back encouragingly; she had faith in these guys. She knew they would bring her brother back somehow- theirs was not a bond that would be so easily broken.

After all, they were a team.

* * *

><p>Byakuya finished her fourth lap across the pool, coming up for air as soon as her hand hit the wall of the starting block again. She panted as she looked up at Kou, who pressed a button on the stopwatch she was holding.<p>

"79 seconds." Kou stated. Byakuya groaned and placed her head against the wall.

"Stop worrying about the time." The calm voice of Haruka interrupted suddenly, making Byakuya jerk her head back up. "Just swim."

"Easier said than done, Haru-kun." Byakuya sighed. "I really need to improve myself if I plan to place in the tournament..."

"You can't swim properly that way. You have to try and be free." Haruka said simply, before turning back around and diving under again. Byakuya was left standing where she was, staring after him. She pondered Haruka's words for a long time, wanting to take his advice into consideration, but not knowing how to.

She sighed again and moved to go another lap, but paused.

'Free, huh...'

"Kou-chan..." Byakuya called out.

"Yeah?"

"Don't start the timer."

"Eh?"

But Byakuya had dove in again, starting a new lap.

She wasn't sure if this was what Haru had meant, but it would be a start.

* * *

><p>It was evening, and the sky was beginning to turn a fiery shade of red; a last salute from the sun before darkness overtook the sky. While most people would be preparing for their return home from work and the like, one very persistent redhead was swimming laps in the indoor swim pool of the esteemed Samezuka Academy.<p>

Nitori held the timer in his hands as he watched Rin finish his- 14th? 15th? He'd lost count- lap that day. Training had been over for over an hour now, but the Matsuoka boy was intent on continuing his training.

"Finish! Good job! That last spurt was incredible, Matsuoka-senpai!" Nitori praised as Rin surfaced, panting for air.

"...One more run." The maroon-haired boy muttered, diving back under before Nitori could protest.

"What? O-okay!" The boy was startled at how hard his senior was pushing, but made no move to stop him.

As he watched Rin swim through the water, he couldn't help but wonder- not for the first time- just what the Matsuoka boy's drive was.

* * *

><p>"You're amazing, Matsuoka-senpai!" Nitori gushed as the two of them were back in their dorm room. Rin was busy drying his hair with a towel, and barely took note of the boy's compliment.<p>

"You should stop going on about how amazing I am and work on finding your own style." He responded blandly.

"I'm a lost cause. I haven't made any progress. I guess it all comes down to talent." Nitori said, somewhat despondently. But he perked up again as he continued, not noticing that Rin's hands had paused from the task of drying his hair. "I was really impressed by Nanase-san during our joint prac-"

"Nitori." Rin interrupted, cutting the boy off. He removed the towel from his head and shot the younger boy a hard glare, making Nitori flinch. "Is that really what you think?" He asked, his voice like cold steel.

"E-eh?"

"They've only just started up their swim club; they haven't even had a real practice yet." Rin said as he stood up from his bed, turning towards the door. "You can tell by looking at their bodies. They haven't been working out."

And he left the room, tossing his towel back onto the bed as he did so. Nitori stared after his senior as he slammed the door behind him, even more perplexed at Rin's confusing behaviour.

The lavender-haired boy glanced at his phone, which sat on his desk. He briefly recalled the Shion girl and her request; how pleading she'd looked as she asked him to take care of her old friend.

Nitori went to pick up his phone and barely hesitated before sending Byakuya a text message.

"Matsuoka-senpai is training until late again."

He only had to wait a few seconds before the girl replied.

"What a moron. I hope he gets sick."

A second later, another message came.

"Did he dress properly? It's still cold outside."

Despite himself, Nitori laughed. It was encouraging to see how concerned Byakuya was in her own way for Rin- it motivated him to try harder to understand the Matsuoka boy. He would keep his end of the bargain; he would look out for Rin, no matter how cold he seemed.

Because there was good in Rin; and he would always see that.

* * *

><p>Rin jogged through the grounds of Samezuka Academy, keeping his breathing even as he did so. The area was well-lit by lampposts, so thankfully his vision was not hindered despite the darkness of the night.<p>

'Given the condition he's in, my victory means nothing.' Rin thought to himself as he jogged. 'It doesn't count as a win.'

The Matsuoka boy grit his teeth, pushing himself to run faster- as if he could run away from his doubts and towards his goal. He kept his eyes on the prize, pushing himself to the limit with his training to better himself.

Nitori was wrong about him. He wasn't amazing. He didn't have talent. It was all simply a product of his hard work. And yet, Haruka was still...

Rin increased his speed, pushing that thought out of his mind in disgust. No, he would do it. He was better. Rin Matsuoka would come out victorious, no matter what.

He kept on running.

* * *

><p>AN: Nitori is such a darling. He's sorta annoying-ish sometimes, but he really is a sweetie. He just accepts Rin so willingly despite how Rin treats him sometimes- which definitely can't be easy, but he does it anyway. Nitori is yet another one of my Free bbies, I swear there isn't a single character that isn't, haha! Sometimes I regret changing my initial plans for a RinOC fic, but then I write more Mako fluff and I forget all about it. Ah, the laments of having too many beautiful men in one series XD

Shout out to Flefleflo for adding this story to your alerts, and Savage Kill for faving and reviewing this fic! Thank you so much, and I hope you guys like this story so far! 8D


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Byakuya Shion."

Byakuya gulped as she looked up at Mr Hasegawa from her seat, her clasped hands trembling slightly as she lay them on top of her desk. The History teacher was returning their test papers today, and Mr Hasegawa had this horrible habit of pausing for a very long time before presenting the students with their results. The man's face always remained strict, so it was difficult to tell whether you passed or failed.

'Please don't throw me out the window please don't throw me out the window please please pleaseeee.' Byakuya prayed furiously in her head as the teacher scrutinized her closely, giving her a really bad feeling. It was the first time she felt so nervous when it came to receiving test results, since she'd actually tried to study this time. She was positive she'd flunked again, and was bracing herself for another lecture, when...

"72, B. Good job, Shion. Keep it up." Mr Hasegawa said, his voice holding a hint of surprise and almost suspicion- he probably thought she'd cheated off someone, but at that moment Byakuya didn't care.

She'd passed her History test.

SHE'D PASSED. WITH A B.

She wanted to kiss Nagisa. That boy was an angel.

She stared at her paper in delight, resisting the urge to do a jig. Seriously, her day just got a whole lot better.

"Congratulations, Byaku-chan." Makoto said, grinning at the girl. He was somewhat surprised as well, but was happy for her- Byakuya never reacted so excitedly when it came to getting exam results before.

Byakuya just nodded gleefully; she still didn't trust herself to speak without squealing like an 11-year old at a teen idol concert. She was that happy.

The best part?

"Question 17: Why was Kojiro Date preferred by Yoshihime for succession of the throne?"

So much for not coming out in exams. She was so gonna rub this in Nagisa's face later on.

* * *

><p>"Mako-chan! Haru-chan! Bya-kun!" The cheerful voice of Nagisa rang out across the classroom of 2-1, catching the attention of all the class' occupants. "Hello! Take a look at this!"<p>

"Hey, wait, Nagisa-kun!" Rei cried out as the enthusiastic blonde pulled him along into the class, stumbling as he did so. He and Nagisa had been getting along on better terms now, but the boy's hyperactive and friendly was something he still wasn't quite used to. He was definitely a lot more patient with Nagisa than before, but it still took some adjusting to.

"Ta-da!" Nagisa proclaimed as he approached the three upperclassmen. He placed the booklet he had been carrying onto the table, opening it for them to see. The three of them- who were all seated around Makoto's table- peered at it curiously.

"Uniforms?" Makoto asked. The booklet depicted a bunch of patterns and fabrics that could be used to make a sports uniform, and it also offered to make individual designs as well.

"Yep! We have a swim club now, so we should all get matching uniforms!" Nagisa enthused.

"That's a good idea." Makoto mused, placing a hand on his chin. "It'll give our club more of an official feel."

"Well, it would be sort of cool." Byakuya commented.

"I know right! I think we should go with this design, and this colour!" Nagisa said enthusiastically. "And we can even use an image in addition to the school emblem!"

Here, Rei interjected, raising a hand to gain attention. "Are you thinking of putting Iwatobi-chan there?"

"Well, yeah, that was the idea." Nagisa replied, pink eyes blinking curiously.

"But it's not beautiful." Rei sighed, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Gotta agree with Ryugazaki-san on that one. Our mascot is pretty disturbing." Byakuya added.

"You're actually a real scaredy-cat, aren't you, Bya-kun?"

"I am not."

"You nearly ran up a tree when you saw a rat."

"...Shut up."

"I think Samezuka's design incorporates a shark and a katana." Makoto interrupted smoothly upon seeing how Byakuya was getting embarassed. She shot him a grateful look in response.

"Yeah, theirs is pretty cool! We could put a real rockhopper penguin on ours, then!" Nagisa suggested. "What do you think, Haru-chan?"

The raven-haired teen simply took out his sketch pad and started drawing on it. The others watched on curiously as he finished the drawing and showed it to them without uttering a word. It was an intricate sketch of the Iwatobi mascot, complete with three-dimensioning and shading. It looked pretty damn good.

"B-beautiful" Rei muttered. Byakuya actually nodded in agreement- Haru was a wonderful artist.

"Great idea, Haru-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed. "All we need to do now is ask Gou-chan for permission to use the club budget!"

* * *

><p>"No."<p>

Nagisa let out a cry of disappointment as Kou snatched the booklet out of his hands and tossed it aside.

"Forget about buying matching uniforms for now." Kou said, brandishing her own piece of paper for them to see. "Here!"

"Is that a new training regimen?" Makoto inquired.

"Yep! I revamped the regimen to account for the fact that Rei-kun can't swim." Kou explained as they all leaned closer to get a better look at the new schedule.

Byakuya raised an appraising eyebrow- the new regimen was rather well-done, it balanced out their excercises very nicely.

"You really know what you're doing, Kou-chan." Byakuya commented. "Given that you've only just started doing this... this is almost professional planning."

Kou flushed slightly in happiness at the praise she was receiving. She had really done her research and took a lot of Seijuuro's advice to heart when she was learning the proper way to plan a training regimen. It was nice to know that all her hard work had paid off- she really wanted to help out her club as best as she could.

"Thank you, Byakuya-chan." She said primly, trying to remain calm and cool.

"Rei-kun!" Kou suddenly called, gaining the bluenette's attention.

"What is it?" He responded.

"Given how much time we have left until the regional tournament," Kou said, flipping through her small notebook. "You have to learn how to swim within a week." She declared, closing her book and giving Rei a serious look.

"Within a week?" Rei laughed at the notion, waving it off. "That's conceptually impossible-"

"This is no laughing matter!" Kou said angrily, glaring at the boy as she stepped up to him, making Rei cringe.

"Yes, ma'am!" He squeaked out fearfully.

"If you fail, you'll never be able to complete this training regimen!"Kou said determinedly, showing him the piece of paper again.

Rei started sweating profusely. Women could be terrifying.

* * *

><p>"You actually found the time to write a seven-day countdown in calligraphy." Byakuya commented idly. Kou had indeed done so, and had hung the countdown calendar near the pool. It was almost scary how sophisticated the maroon-haired girl liked to make things.<p>

"Of course! What kind of manager would I be if I couldn't do something as simple as this?" Kou stated proudly.

"Well, I guess we're lucky to have you then." Byakuya smirked, patting Kou's head playfully. The younger girl just mock-glared at her and swatted her hand away. After that, the two girls returned their attentions to Rei, who was standing in the pool with Nagisa. They were going to try and teach him the regular swimming styles to see which one he'd be able to pick up on. Since they were all pretty well-versed in different techniques, they were going to have Rei try them out one by one.

"I'll go first!" Nagisa announced. "I can teach you the frog style!"

"The breaststroke. Or breast, right?" Rei said, adjusting his goggles. Byakuya had noticed that the boy had a particular way of pushing up his glasses- by stretching out his whole hand and fixing the position of the frames by pushing them up from each side. The same habit had gone into the adjustment of his goggles as well.

"You've done your homework, Rei-chan!" Nagisa praised. The blonde was quite an encouraging teacher, really, whether it was in swimming or studies. Patient and praising, while never pushing too much stress onto the learner, he was an excellent tutor.

"I've learned all the concepts." Rei said, none too proudly. His ability to study any subject to a fine point was his forte, and was what made him great in academics. Parctical work was another story, though. "I just need to figure out how to make it work, that's all."

"Then let's start with your legs!" Nagisa said, offering his hands to Rei to observe his kicking. Rei complied, and did as he was asked.

"Wow, Rei-chan! Your form is perfect!" Nagisa enthused as the Ryugazaki boy performed the frog kick flawlessly.

"Naturally." Rei said, smugly. His perfect form was yet another thing he prided himself on.

"I'm going to let go, then." Nagisa said, slowly releasing the bluenette's hands to allow him to swim on his own.

"Go ahead." Rei replied, moving his arms undef to attempt the breaststroke.

At first, it looked like it would turn out okay, but then...

"Wow, your stroke is also perf-"

...Rei was performing the stroke, but wasn't moving from his position. He was also sinking.

The boy had to stand up again to breathe, and the others just stared in slight disappointment. He looked like he was so close...

"Why?" Rei pondered out loud, placing a hand on his chin. He had performed the stroke perfectly and followed the theory precisely, so why hadn't it worked?

"Maybe breast isn't your thing." Byakuya suggested, walking closer to the edge of the pool. "Some people find the breaststroke pretty slow and difficult to maintain, so maybe you should try for something else."

"You mean people like you, Bya-kun?" Nagisa asked cheekily.

"Don't rub it in." The girl grumbled in response, crossing her arms. Breaststroke one of her weaker strokes, and she hardly ever used it. As for Nagisa, the breast was his best swimming style, and he was really fast with it too- something Byakuya envied.

"We need to get back on the training regimen, though." Kou said, looking at her watch. "So, Nagisa-kun, you keep trying to teach Rei-kun. Everyone else, back to training!"

"Yessir! " Byakuya said, mock-saluting.

Kou kicked her in the shin.

* * *

><p>"I'm up next." Makoto declared the following day. Nagisa's attempt to teach Rei the breaststroke hadn't gone too well, and now they had six days left to teach Rei to swim. "If you're having trouble with breast, we can start with back."<p>

The other swimmers were sitting by the sidelines, watching the other two teens as they dangled their feet in the cool water.

"With the backstroke, you keep your head above the surface, so it's easier for people who are scared of water." Makoto explained.

"I'm not scared of water." Rei said simply. It was true; he wasn't scared, simply unaware of how to swim, that was all.

Byakuya had stopped swirling her feet in the water at Makoto's comment and bit her lower lip. Scared of water...

Several images came into her head- a small vase filled with wildflowers in the garden of the Tachibana household. A young Makoto and her feeding two goldfish swimming around in a fishbowl. Makoto's hands shaking as he grasped onto Haru's and her own.

Her clasped hands tightened slightly and she looked up at Makoto, who was nonchalantly getting Rei to lie on his back in the water, giving him pointers on how to begin the backstroke. With how sturdy and kind he looked, one would never have guessed he carried such a dark burden on his shoulders.

She turned to look at Haru and caught his eye. Apparently she wasn't the only one having a small walk down memory lane at Makoto's words...

"He knows how to float." Nagisa commented, bringing their attention back to Rei.

"Naturally. I wasn't in optimal condition yesterday." Rei justified. Byakuya couldn't help but roll her eyes at the statement, smiling slightly. She was starting to get used to the bluenette's quirks.

"I'm gonna let go, then." Makoto said.

"Go ahead." Rei replied as Makoto did so.

...Unfortunately it was just a repeat of what happened yesterday- Rei performing the stroke, yet sinking and not going anywhere. He had to stand back up again.

"What am I doing wrong?" The bluenette mused, getting more and more frustrated.

"This is hopeless." Nagisa said despairingly, lying on the floor.

"Haru-chan! Teach him how to swim!" Nagisa said, sitting up again.

"No. That requires effort." Haruka replied simply, turning his head away.

"Don't be that wayyy..." Nagisa whined, putting his head on Haruka's shoulder pleadingly. The stoic boy wouldn't budge.

"Bya-kun..." Nagisa continued, looking at the girl with innocent wide eyes. "Why don't you try?"

"I dunno, Nagi-kun... I'm not really a good teacher..." Byakuya said, scratching her cheek awkwardly. It was true- she had a different way of teaching people, and it wasn't exactly effective for those who weren't quite capable. But they really needed this, and if she could help in any way...

Damn that Nagisa for pulling that pitiful look.

"...but I'll try." She relented. Nagisa gave a whoop and tackled her with a hug.

"Yay, Bya-kun!" He cheered enthusiastically. Byakuya grunted slightly from his weight, but smirked and pushed him off.

"Think of it as thanks for helping me pass my History exam." She said. "Ah, that reminds me..."

"Eh? Wh-"

But before he could finish, Byakuya had pushed Nagisa into the pool, grinning mischievously.

"What was that for, Bya-kun?!" Nagisa spluttered as he surfaced. That had caught him totally off guard.

"That was thanks for helping me get a B for my History test!" She replied, still grinning.

"How is that being thankful?" Nagisa complained.

"Good shove."

"Not you too, Haru-chan!"

"You're welcome, Nagi-kun!"

"Are they always like this?" Rei asked as he and Makoto observed the whole scene. Mako just smiled.

"Pretty much. You'll get used to it. Anyway, you wanna try again?" Makoto inquired.

"Very well. I will get it this time." Rei responded determinedly.

He didn't get it that time. Or the next. Or the one after that. In the end they gave up and decided to try again the following day.

* * *

><p>"Well we definitely aren't getting any swimming done in this weather." Byakuya sighed, holding out a hand to catch the falling rain. It was really pouring down today, and the weather wasn't lightening up.<p>

"Well, it can't be helped." Makoto commented, slightly disappointed as well. They were already short on time as it was, and this wasn't helping.

"We can't let this day go to waste!" Kou declared, smacking her fist into her palm. "We should have a meeting today! To discuss our next course of action!"

"But we don't have a club meeting room." Nagisa said. "Where else are we gonna have enough space to discuss our plans without getting interrupted?"

They all paused to think for a moment before simultaneously turning towards Haruka and Byakuya. The two teens cringed under the others' scrutiny.

"Haru's place is nearer." Byakuya said immediately. The boy gave her an exasperated look- his place was seriously becoming the unofficial meeting joint for their little group, and it had been done without his consent, exactly.

He was sort of disgruntled, but to be honest, he really didn't mind. The company wasn't all that bad.

* * *

><p>"Okay!" Nagisa announced as the members of the swim club gathered around Haruka's dining table. "Let's begin the "Figure Out Why Rei-chan Can't Swim" meeting! Anybody have any thoughts?"<p>

Rei sat at the head of the table, brow twitching in annoyance. Could Nagisa have put it any more bluntly?

"The water doesn't like him." Haruka suggested. Byakuya choked on her drink and Makoto started patting her back to help her cough it up.

"Poor Rei-chan." Nagisa sympathized.

"That can't be the reason." Makoto said exasperatedly.

"Maybe he's athletically challenged." Kou suggested.

"Nope." Byakuya commented, finally gathering herself together. "Can't be. You saw how he was on the track field."

"Yep. Rei-chan's really fast." Nagisa added. "And he does really well on tests, too."

"So you must be smart." Makoto mused.

"Maybe it's his diet."

"Do you like mackerel?"

"DHA..."

"I know! His head is too heavy!"

"All that studying has enlarged his brain!"

"That's impossible."

"How would you know, Bya-kun? You don't study at all!"

"The brain's size doesn- did you just call me an airhead?"

"Well-"

"That's enough!" Rei finally yelled as he stood up, his patience having grown thinner with each comment the others made. "The problem is the way you guys teach! If I had a proper coach, I would be fine!"

For some reason, Rei's comment stung Byakuya slightly. A proper coach... like her mom had been.

Thw girl sighed, rubbing her forehead in irritation as she forcefully shoved that thought to the back of her head. "Alright then. Proper coach. Any coaches we know?"

Makoto pondered upon the question for a moment. "A coach..." He gasped as he got an idea. "There is a coach!"

* * *

><p>"What?" Goro Sasabe exclaimed in confusion. He had been called to deliver pizzas to Haruka's home address, and had found himself pulled into the household itself by his former students when he had arrived. "You want me to teach a kid who sinks like a rock? Just because I used to be a coach?"<p>

"Pretty much." Byakuya replied through a mouthful of pizza. Even in the company of others, she never really felt the need for table manners unless they were in public. Nagisa held no such reservations either as he happily munched on two pizzas at the same time.

"I object." Rei cut in curtly. "I can float, so I do not sink like a rock. A more accurate analogy would be to call me a submarine."

Byakuya really had to learn to stop ingesting food and drink during conversations. Makoto patted her back again when she choked on her pizza.

"Hey, Goro-chan." Nagisa said pleadingly, taking a bite of pizza with each word he said. "We want you to teach him how to swim."

"Don't talk and eat at the same time!" Coach Sasabe said exasperatedly. He stood up as he got tired of the students' begging. "I'm a very busy guy. Why don't you teach him? Goodbye."

And he just walked out and left them around the table, staring after him.

"Didn't work..." Makoto said despondently. Nagisa didn't seem to have any particular qualms about the whole thing and just reached for another slice of pizza, much to Kou's apprehension. She was absolutely stumped at how the boy could store so much food inside that tiny body of his.

Byakuya just sighed and mimicked Nagisa's actions. Food always made things better.

And damn. This pizza was good.

* * *

><p>Byakuya idly paced the hall of her living room as she held the cell phone to her ear, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up. She hadn't called him in a while now...<p>

"'Bout time, Turtle. Text messages don't really cut it."

Byakuya laughed at the sound of the familiar voice. "Don't I even garner a 'hello', brother dearest?"

"Eff that."

"I missed you too." She laughed again, the voice on the other end joining her.

"So, how's the swim club business going?" Aoi asked. Despite the long distance, he and his sister kept in touch and updated each other regularly on their lives. The siblings held no reservations when it came to talking about their problems, so Aoi was pretty up-to-date on his sister's situation,

"Eh, it's fine. Ryugazaki-san still can't swim though. We don't really know what to do now..."

"Hm. Yeah, that guy sounds like a tough case. Though from the way you described his pole-vaulting, I thought he would've picked up quickly."

"Yeah, well, I guess he really is more land-inclined."

"Heh. Well, if you ask me, the butterfly just needs to up his game. Anyone can swim."

"Butterfly?"

"Graceful, prides himself on beauty, can't swim, flawless form... you tell me that doesn't remind you of a butterfly."

"You haven't even met the guy and you already found a term to describe him so perfectly." Byakuya laughed again.

"Well, what can I say? I'm a genius."

"Yeah, yeah. You keep telling yourself that. How're things with Ayase-chan, by the way?"

"Eh, it's all good. We talk, we fight, we make out on the couch..."

"Okay. Stop right there." Byakuya interjected, shivering at the thought of her brother making out with his long-time girlfriend, Ayase Nanami.

"You asked!" Aoi laughed. "But seriously, it's all good. Maybe I'll pop the question once I'm stable enough. Maybe."

"Special lady, huh?" Byakuya smiled. She had only met Ayase on a couple of occasions, but she was a nice person. Her brother had found a keeper.

"Yeah. But my love life definitely isn't as interesting as yours. Any progress with Orca?"

"Stop calling him that!" Byakuya said, flushing slightly at the mention of Makoto- or "Orca", as her brother so kindly nicknamed. Aoi had a habit of doing that- naming people after animals. Byakuya questioned her brother's sanity pretty often, but if Ayase was fine with dating a guy like that, then whatever.

"No need to get so protective over your boyfriend, Turtle." Aoi teased.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Betcha wish he was."

"I will hang up on you."

"Don't be that way! Oh fine, how're things with Makoto?" He rephrased, emphasizing the last word.

"Better. And we're just the same as always."

"Neither of you have made a move? Boring."

"Well excuse me for not making my feelings known in a grandeur fashion."

"More like any fashion whatsoever. C'mon, someone's gotta make the first move."

"I can't do that! I'll get all weird and stuff! And I don't even know if he likes me back."

"Of course he does! You're awesome!"

"You're my brother, idiot. You're obligated to say that even if I looked like a sack of potatoes."

"You saying you don't already do?"

"Shut up."

Another laugh. "But seriously, though. You gotta try and drop a few hints, at least. You don't want to regret not doing anything until it's too late."

Byakuya sighed and rubbed her forehead again. "What if I mess up? For all I know it could just be another 'Haruka Nanase' phase again."

"You might be surprised. Think about it, Turtle."

"I might." She would.

"Heh. Atta girl. Well, it's getting pretty late, so... any thing else you wanna talk about?"

Here, Byakuya paused for a moment. "...Do you think I'm like her, Ao-nii?"

"What?"

"Mom. Do you think I'm like her?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before Aoi replied.

"You're not her, Byakuya. You're you, and you should always be proud of that. You know that, right?"

Byakuya bit her lip again, contemplating her brother's words. That was what she had been telling herself over and over again, but still...

"I wish I was more like her, Ao-nii." She confessed. "I wish... that I could be stronger. That I knew what to do."

"You don't have to be more like mom to do that. Sometimes you gotta carve your own path with your own hands, you know?"

"...Okay. Thanks, aniki."

"Anytime, Turtle."

"Goodnight."

"Rest easy."

And he hung up. Byakuya exhaled loudly and ran a hand through her hair. She had wanted to talk to someone about that for a while now, and while it was good to take it off her chest for a bit, she was still just as confused as before.

Ever since she was a child, Byakuya had looked up to her mother. The woman who had raised her had been a perfect role model, one who always provided for her and Aoi despite how tough things were for a single parent. Mikasa had never failed either of her children, not until the day she died. The period during which her mom was sick had been an absolutely terrifying time for the young Byakuya- to see her strong, independent mother weakened and fragile... it had truly scared her.

That was why Byakuya had run in the first place; why she had left behind all her cares and worries. What she feared the most was that she would be unable to live up to what people expected of her- to disappoint others. She longed to be the person her mother was, one who was strong enough to take on the expectations of others and deliver. Rei's words from earlier that day had indeed hit close to home, because she was worried that she wouldn't be able to teach him properly when her turn came- that she wouldn't be good enough.

She let her head fall into her hands as she let out another dreary sigh. This was a horrible way to end the day.

* * *

><p>AN: Second chappy in a row that ends with teen angst. Lovely stuff. Woots. I'll make it up to you guys; after all, I think we all know what's coming next chapter... das right. Swimsuit time. The day the Free fanbase lost their ovaries. On a side note, we finally get an appearance (sort of) from Aoi! He'll be playing a somewhat important part in the story later as well, but for now we're stuck with phone calls and a shipping sibling xD<p>

Cyber cookie giveaway to Savage Kill for reviewing this fic again, and Thug Seme Senpai as once more for adding my profile to your alerts and favourites! Ya'll are just too sweet ;w;


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"I finally know the reason why I can't swim!" Rei declared as he stood by the pool the following day. They were down to four days for him to learn how to swim, and so his proclamation piqued the others' interests immediately, halting their swimming for a moment.

"Really?" Nagisa exclaimed.

"You figured it out?" Makoto asked excitedly.

"Thank goodness." Byakuya muttered as she floated on her back in the water. She was pretty sleepy from staying up late again last night, and had gotten tired quickly after a few warm-up laps. Damn all these philosophical thoughts again.

"The answer was right under my nose!" Rei continued. "The answer is..."

"The answer is...?" Makoto and Nagisa repeated in unison as Rei paused, waiting for his answer intently. Haruka didn't say anything- simply submerging himself up to his nose in the water as he gazed emotionlessly at the flamboyant bluenette.

"My swimsuit!" Rei finished loudly, pointing at the yellow speedo he was wearing. "This speedo is to blame!"

Everyone deadpanned. Byakuya was barely able to let out a bark of laughter before she ended up floundering in the water from the loss of buoyancy.

"...I let you borrow that, right? That's kinda mean." Nagisa commented as he and Makoto got out of the pool and stood in front of Rei. Makoto looked more than a little bit confused at the statement.

"It's not mean!" Rei exclaimed, making Nagisa jump slightly. "The problem is that this speedo is not streamlined for my body, I think! I haven't crunched the numbers yet!"

"He's really big on sticking to form, isn't he?" Nagisa mused as the bluenette ranted about his yellow, penguin-patterned speedo.

"Well, I don't see why he can't buy a new swimsuit." Makoto pointed out logically.

"Yes, please. Get him to wear something besides that monstrosity." Byakuya groaned.

Haruka couldn't help but nod slightly in agreement. Nagisa's old speedo was a bit disturbing when it was worn by the bluenette.

* * *

><p>"So why didn't Miss Ama-chan come with us to buy his new swimsuit?" Makoto asked curiously. The Iwatobi bunch were all on a train and were headed to a local store to buy some new swimming gear. Makoto and Rei were standing while the others were sitting comfortably on the carriage seats.<p>

"She worked for a swimsuit maker in Tokyo, right?" Kou mused.

"Well, I did ask her, but..." Nagisa then proceeded to relay the incident of how Miss Amakata had told him that she had something to do that Sunday. And how there were loads of other brands. And how she had her reasons. And how she wouldn't be able to provide an objective perspective.

"What's with the flurry of random excuses?" Rei deadpanned. The others all wore similar expressions on their faces, clearly thinking the same thing.

"Maybe she really is a 60 year-old granny and she doesn't want her secret to be revealed." Byakuya said thoughtfully.

The others all gave a sigh at that.

* * *

><p>"There are a lot to choose from." Kou mused as she looked through the racks and racks of swimsuits. There were various designs and cuttings available for any swimmer to choose from- the place was very well-stocked.<p>

"Fluid mechanics would tell you that Reynolds numbers and boundary layer theory are the key points." Rei stated knowledgeably as he walked down the aisles of swimsuits and looked through them. "But I believe the colour also plays a psychological role."

"I'll also need some prescription goggles. Blurry vision may be another reason for my difficulties." Rei continued.

"You can't see without your glasses?" Nagisa asked as he came up behind the Ryugazaki boy and lifted his red frames off his face.

"Wai-"

But Nagisa had already taken hold of Rei's glasses, and was posing dramatically while wearing them on his own face.

"I haven't learned any of the concepts!" Nagisa said dramatically as he mimicked Rei.

"Hey, Nagisa-kun! Give them back, you're going to hurt your eyes!" Rei exclaimed as he chased after the Hazuki boy, who pranced away mischievously.

"It's almost scary how uncanny that impression was." Byakuya commented as she browsed through another rack of swimsuits on the other end of the aisle.

"Nagisa-kun is very good at imitating others." Kou agreed.

Haruka and Makoto were browsing through the rack beside the two girls, looking for swimsuits of their own. Haru had picked out and was comparing two black, knee-length numbers with purple patterns running down the sides. They looked nearly identical, and suspiciously like the ones he already had...

"I'm trying this on." He declared as he finally chose one and headed towards the changing rooms, leaving Makoto staring after him with a deadpanned expression.

Kou didn't see anything wrong though, and asked innocently. "Oh, Haruka-senpai's also looking to get a new swimsuit?"

"I don't think 'new' is exactly the right word, Gou-chan." Makoto commented.

"Well, I suppose... it does look a lot like his regular swimsuits."

"I don't see what's wrong. That swimsuit was totally fine." Byakuya said, comparing two black kneeskins which closely resembled each other- not much different from what Haru had been doing earlier. "Now which one do you think looks better?"

Makoto and Kou sweatdropped as they stared at Byakuya, who was honestly waiting for their opinion. Her absent-mindedness was astounding.

* * *

><p>"Are you finished changing?" Nagisa called out as he and Makoto stood outside the changing rooms, waiting to see what Rei had chosen.<p>

"It's clear that this fits me much better than a speedo." Rei declared as he opened the changing room curtain, showing off his new... rainbow-coloured swim pants.

"Rainbow?!" Makoto blanched.

"A rainbow for Rei?" Nagisa joked lightly, earning a loud groan from inside another one of the changing rooms.

"Of all the puns you could think of, Nagi-kun... Really?" Byakuya's voice rang out.

"It works!" Nagisa defended. Byakuya just sighed.

"I'm accounting for the fact that each colour has a different psychological impact!" Rei declared.

"So you don't care how it looks?" Makoto deadpanned.

The door to the next changing room opened then, and Byakuya stepped out to take a look at Rei's swimsuit.

"Wow. And I thought what Nagi-kun's sisters put me in was bad." She deadpanned.

"Excuse me?!" Rei exclaimed, eyebrow twitching as he faced the female senior.

"Did you just bring along your old swimsuit, Bya-kun?" Nagisa cut in curiously, referring to the swimsuit Byakuya was wearing.

"Of course not! This one is obviously new!" Byakuya retorted.

"It looks exactly like your old one." Makoto said simply. His face grew slightly hot when he saw her, though... did she always have that figure?

"Men are hopeless." Byakuya sighed.

"I don't really see a difference either, Byakuya-chan!" Kou called out.

"You traitor."

"I'm done changing." Haruka's voice suddenly rang out, catching all of their attentions.

"What do you think?" He asked as he stood in the swimsuit he had chosen.

"Wow, I can't tell how it's different from his regular swimsuit." Makoto deadpanned.

"Isn't it the same?" Nagisa asked.

"No. I like the way this one fits better." Haruka said, a content look on his face.

"I know right?" Byakuya said happily. "The cutting of these swimsuits is definitely more fitting. And that pattern looks nicer, too."

Haruka just nodded in agreement while Makoto's eye started twitching. Nagisa just stared in wide-eyed fascination. This was gonna be an interesting day...

"Mako-chan! Let's go try some on too!" Nagisa said enthusiastically, dragging Makoto by the arm.

"What? I have to join in?" Makoto said exasperatedly.

"C'mon Mako, you said you were looking for a couple yourself- plus, you really need something that's not orange." Byakuya added.

"There's nothing wrong with my colour choice!" He made a small note to choose a different colour, though...

"C'mon, get moving!" Nagisa said impatiently.

And so, Makoto was dragged along for the ride partially against his own will by a certain blonde.

As they all continued on to find more swimsuits, Kou was busy watching all of them from her seat, hands over her mouth in an attempt to restrain her squeals. This all seemed too good to be true...

'Changing rooms and muscles... now there's a nice combo you don't see everyday!' She blushed as she thought to herself. The girl was having the time of her life.

* * *

><p>"Wait, you're going with that?!" Kou exclaimed.<p>

"Yeah, why not?" Byakuya said confusedly as she put aside the black kneeskin with yellow stripes running down the sides. She really liked that one, and it was slightly different from her normal plain black swimsuits.

"What's with you and dark colours? You're always wearing such monotonous clothing!" Kou pointed out, gesturing to the grey hoodie and slacks Byakuya was wearing.

"Swimsuits aren't supposed to be colourful, Kou-chan." Byakuya said simply, ignoring the younger girl's comment on her wardrobe choice.

"Can't you choose something that compliments your body more?"

"I can't exactly pull off the feminine look, Kou-chan."

"But you've got a bigger chest than I do!"

"Don't point that out so loudly in public!" Byakuya hissed, her face turning red.

Kou wasn't having it, though. She huffed and immediately took the swimsuit from Byakuya's hands, placing it back on the rack and taking out a blue one-piece with green patterns on the front.

"You're gonna buy something different for once. Try this one on." She said petulantly.

"But I always go with black suits." Byakuya protested.

"Try it on."

"I really don't want to expose my legs if I can help it..."

"No excuses."

"I'm n-"

"TRY IT."

"...Okay." Byakuya peeped out fearfully as Kou growled out the last sentence. Looked like she wasn't getting out of this one...

She was still getting that kneeskin when Kou wasn't looking, though.

* * *

><p>"Why do women have to be so scary..." Byakuya mumbled as she modeled the swimsuit Kou had picked out.<p>

"Are you actually wearing colours, Bya-kun?!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"Shut up."

"But it looks good." Makoto commented appraisingly. "That colour suits you."

"...Thanks, I guess." The girl grumbled, flushing slightly at the compliment as she made a mental note to purchase this one too. After all, if Mako thought it looked good...

Damn her girly crush to hell.

* * *

><p>"Ta-da!" Nagisa enthused as he came out of the changing room in a pair of red and white patterned swim briefs.<p>

"Oh, that looks good." Makoto praised.

"You'd never think those legs could kick an elephant to death." Byakuya muttered as she glanced at Nagisa's slender limbs.

"What was that, Bya-kun?"

"Nothing."

* * *

><p>"D-does it look funny at all?" Makoto asked as he tried out a black bodysuit.<p>

"You're rocking it, Mako-chan!" Nagisa enthused.

Byakuya wolf-whistled, much to Makoto's embarassment.

"Don't do that!" Makoto exclaimed.

Byakuya just grinned cheekily in response. He really did look great in that swimsuit, though. Hot.

...She was going to pretend she hadn't just thought that.

* * *

><p>Rei posed dramatically with his hands behind his head as he modeled the new swimsuit he had picked out. It was a purple bodysuit that was... adorned with butterflies.<p>

"Butterflies have the psychological-"

"Where did you find that?!" Makoto cut Rei off in the middle of his sentence, blanching at the sight.

"Wasn't that in the women's section?" Nagisa asked.

"They had the same design for both genders." Rei said huffily.

"A purple, butterfly patterned swimsuit. For men." Byakuya deadpanned. The world just got weirder and weirder each day...

* * *

><p>"This is also good." Haruka said calmly as he wore another pair of jammers that looked- once again- just like his normal swimsuits.<p>

"Tell us how it's different, Haru-chan?" Nagisa exclaimed, annoyed yet curious as to what made the swimsuit different.

"You guys are blind." Byakuya commented.

"You're just weird." Makoto sighed. His friends had some of the most peculiar quirks...

* * *

><p>Byakuya was humming to herself as she idly looked through another row of swimsuits. She had already picked out two for herself, but she wanted to look around at more.<p>

As she browsed through the rack, she didn't notice as another person did the same from the opposite side of the aisle as well. Since neither of them had been looking where they were going, they collided into each other near the centre of the aisle, both of them stumbling.

"Oh, I'm sorry-" but Byakuya stopped short when she noticed who it was she had bumped into.

"My apolog-" Nitori cut himself off when he, too, realized who he had accidentally collided with.

"Nitori-san?!" "Shion-senpai?!" They both exclaimed at the same time. "What are you doing here?"

Upon their unintentional synchronisation, they laughed.

"I definitely didn't expect to see you here, Nitori-san. Small world." Byakuya said, grinning slightly.

"Neither did I, senpai. Are you here with your friends?" Nitori asked smilingly.

"Yeah, we're looking for new suits. Ryugazaki-san in particular."

"Ryugazaki-san? The one who couldn't swim?"

"Eheh... that's the one. We're trying to get over the 'can't swim' issue, though."

"Ah, I see. A couple of us from Samezuka are looking to buy some swimsuits too... Matsuoka-senpai as well."

"What?" Byakuya was startled. "Rin-kun's here?"

"Yeah. He went to the changing rooms to try on a swimsuit, I think..."

Byakuya glanced back in the direction of the changing rooms worriedly. Haruka and the others were still hanging around there, too...

"Nitori-san, would you mind accompanying me?" she asked.

"E-eh?"

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you should be doing this, Shion-senpai?" Nitori asked worriedly.<p>

"This could be vital." Byakuya replied.

"What if you get caught?"

"You run- I'll distract them."

"I don't think that concept can apply here, Shion-senpai..."

"Well, what else would you have me do?"

The two teens were standing near the exit of the shopping centre. After a bit of asking around, someone was able to tell them that a redheaded boy and a raven-haired teen had exited the building not too long ago. Byakuya was pretty sure the two were having a long talk right now, and she wanted to listen in on the conversation.

And Nitori was trying to talk her out of it. Really, the boy was way too concerned with his moral ethics.

"Just stay here, Nitori-san. I'll go and do the spying, so you don't have to worry about getting caught. It'll all be on me."

"...Okay, if you say so, senpai."Nitori said uncertainly. He still didn't really approve of this.

"Sorry 'bout this, Nitori-san." Byakuya apologized. She did mean it, but wasn't guilty enough to back away now. She opened the door quietly, making sure her footsteps were silent as well. However, what she saw when she opened the door nearly made her trip over her own feet.

Kou was staring back at her, her red eyes widened in surprise. She immediately raised a finger to her lips, gesturing for the Shion girl to remain quiet. Byakuya understood immediately and didn't question the Matsuoka girl's presence here- they both were probably in this for the same reason.

Kou had had a run in with Seijuuro just outside the sportswear shop when she'd gotten fed up of watching the Iwatobi group change swimsuits for the bazillionth time. She had been getting a drink from the vending machine when the redheaded captain of Samezuka's swim team had spotted her and proceeded to make idle conversation. She had since then been trailing her brother when he found out he was here, which was how she'd ended up out here in the first place. How Byakuya found out as well, she wasn't sure, but that wasn't important at the moment.

The two girls didn't dare peek around the corner of the wall between them and the boys- lest they get caught- so they settled for relying in their ears. Rin and Haru started talking, and the conversation they were about to have was one that none of them- be it the speakers themselves or the spies- would forget.

* * *

><p>"Haru." Rin called out as he leaned against the fence surrounding the large complex. "What have you been doing the last three years? You're better than this."<p>

Haruka was standing a good several feet away from Rin, his posture upright. He was confused as to why his old friend had called him out here to talk, but had complied anyway.

"I'm not better than someone who just got back from Australia." He said.

"Are you mocking me?" Rin said sharply, his head snapping towards the dark-haired boy.

"I'm not. You won our race." Haruka replied honestly.

"It'd be hard not to beat you, given the shape you're in." Rin said snarkily, his tone growing colder.

"A win is a win." Haruka responded, averting his gaze. "You won; isn't that good enough?"

"It's not!" Rin growled back. "I want a real race! Or else... I can't move on."

Here, the Matsuoka boy's gaze fell slightly, and his voice quietened towards the end of his sentence. He gazed despondently at the ground as he admitted his feelings of hesitation. He needed to beat Haruka properly to convince himself that he was better; that he was good enough. He had to- it was all that he knew to do.

Haru just stared at the maroon-haired boy, his face bearing an expression of disapproval. What Rin was saying... it completely went against the stoic teen's beliefs- to swim was to be free. Rin was pushing Haru to swim for his sake, and it made him almost angry. This was the boy who had brought him to swim in a relay with his friends- the one who had shown him a sight he had never forgotten. Haru had spent so many years worrying and worrying about Rin after their race in middle school, and yet... here he was now, trapping himself like this.

Beyond that frustration, though, Haru couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for his old friend. But what could he do? What if Rin lost again and it made things worse?

"You're a pain." Haruka said bluntly as he started walking away. "I only swim free. I won't swim for you."

Haruka was set on returning into the shopping complex, but his attempt was cut short when Rin ran after him and grabbed him viciously by the shoulders. The Matsuoka boy shoved Haru against the fence, hands bracing against the sides of the fence to prevent any attempt at escape.

"No." Rin said fiercely, ruby eyes glaring piercingly into Haru's sapphire ones. "You're going to swim for me."

Haruka could only stare back in slight shock at Rin. His friend looked determined, angry... and pleading.

Rin needed this. He truly knew no other way.

Haruka inhaled slowly and he raised his hand, grabbing onto the arm Rin had braced against the fence. The Matsuoka boy started slightly at Haruka's firm grip, but Haru ignored it.

"In that case," He stated calmly. "I want you to promise me something."

"If you lose, don't say you're gonna quit swimming. Don't embarass yourself." Haruka continued as he removed Rin's arm from the fence and walked forth, forcing Rin to take a step back. Haruka's eyes were determined as he gazed at Rin and finished his sentence. "Don't cry if you lose."

No. He would not accept it if Rin cried. Even if the Rin Matsuoka he had known was susceptible tosuch emotions... if he dared to cry again, Haru would never forgive himself.

Rin's expression became even more startled at Haruka's words, but he quickly regained his composure. He grit his teeth and let out a "tch" as he yanked his arm away from Haru's grasp, moving back several paces from the boy.

"I'm not a little kid anymore." He retorted, glaring at Haruka. "This time, I'll make it clear how different you and I are."

The two of them stared each other down, blue eyes clashing with red. The distance between them as they stood on the field wasn't simply physical- no, they were already so far apart, even without that space separating them. That rift only seemed to keep on growing wider and wider, and what Haruka feared was that the distance between them would be too far to jump.

Rin was the one who broke his gaze first, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked in the other direction of the shopping centre.

"Try to build some muscle before the prefectural tournament. We'll settle things there." He said coldly. "See you at the tournament."

Haruka could only stare once more at Rin's back as he walked away from him, reminded once again of that day all those years ago after their race.

Only this time, Haruka didn't bother trying to stop him.

* * *

><p>The two girls hiding behind the wall were utterly silent after the conversation between Rin and Haru had ended. They were solemn after what they had heard, and were completely still as they contemplated the whole thing.<p>

They might have stood there the whole day, too, if Nitori hadn't decided to emerge from the store at that moment.

"Senpai! Your friends are coming!" He whispered urgently. The other two girls only had time to start at the statement before the doors opened again and the rest of the Iwatobi bunch emerged.

"Oh, there they are!" Nagisa exclaimed, making them all jump.

"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked curiously. They all looked pretty serious before they had interrupted them.

"I-it's nothing!" Kou said immediately, waving her hands in an attempt to dissuade them from asking any more questions.

"You're acting really weird for someone who was doing 'nothing', Gou-chan." Nagisa pointed out plainly.

"We happened to run into Nitori-san, and we came out for some fresh air, that's all. We were just talking." Byakuya interjected smoothly, gesturing to the underclassman at her side. Nitori started slightly at the lie, but played along as he bowed towards the others.

"You're from Samezuka, right?" Makoto asked smilingly. "You here to pick up some swimsuits, too?"

"Uhm, yes. I came here with several of my schoolmates." Nitori replied politely.

"Ah! Is Rin-chan here then?" Nagisa asked excitedly.

"E-eh?"

"Nope!" Kou interrupted again, waving her arms frantically. "Apparently onii-chan stayed back at the school!"

"Aww, man. I was hoping to see Rin-chan..." Nagisa complained.

"What are you all doing out here?" Haruka's voice interjected suddenly as he rounded the corner, startling the three spying teens again.

"Nothing!" They responded in unison.

Haru raised an eyebrow, but made no move to pursue the question. It was none of his business.

"Anyway... Byakuya-chan! We have to go get your swimsuit!" Kou said far too enthusiastically, grabbing the dark-haired girl by the arm and dragging her along. Byakuya, in turn, pulled Nitori in as well.

"Right! C'mon, Nitori-san, we need to get yours too!" She added cheerily.

"R-right on it, Shion-senpai!"

And the three of them practically ran into the shopping centre, leaving four very perplexed teens staring after them.

"Did we miss something important?" Rei asked confusedly.

The others all shrugged.

* * *

><p>"That was close." Kou exhaled, leaning against the wall. That had been more intense and suspenseful than she had expected.<p>

"I hope Matsuoka-senpai doesn't find out..." Nitori said nervously. He was still discomforted by the fact that he had been unable to stop Byakuya from spying on his senior, and was rather worried that Rin would find out what had transpired. It had been, after all, a private conversation that he had been having. He sort of felt obligated to tell Rin about this whole thing, but at the same time, he was also obligated to keep Byakuya's secret, too...

The older girl saw his hesitation and felt immensely guilty.

"I'm sorry." She said sincerely. "If you really want to, you can tell Rin-kun about my spying; I won't hold it against you. You had nothing to do with this, alright?"

"No, it's not your fault either, Shion-senpai." Nitori reassured, making his decision. "You just wanted to look out for your friends, that's all. I won't tell anyone."

"Nitori-san..." Byakuya trailed off, staring at the boy in surprise. Already as it was, he seemed so patient and understanding with Rin as his roommate- which couldn't have been easy- and now, he was trying to reassure her despite how nervous he himself was feeling at the moment. He truly was a nice boy.

"Thank you." She said, smiling at Nitori. "I really do hope I don't get you into trouble for this..."

"No, I don't think you did." Nitori laughed sheepishly.

"You're my brother's roommate, right?" Kou asked curiously. The boy nodded in response.

"Yes. And you're Matsuoka-senpai's sister- I remember you from the practice. Our captain talks about you a lot."

"O-oh? Is that so?" Kou flushed at the new piece of information.

"Kou-chan has an admirer~" Byakuya teased.

"Oh be quiet." Kou shushed, her face still red.

"Anyway..." Nitori cut in hesitantly. "I think I should head back to my schoolmates. I'll see you around, Shion-senpai? Matsuoka-san?"

"Alright then." "It was nice to meet you." The two girls replied in unison, waving at the lavender-haired boy as he walked away. They then proceeded to look back at each other, their faces somewhat solemn.

"So, my brother and Haruka-senpai are going to race at prefecturals..." Kou said slowly, broaching the topic that they had on their minds. The two of them became noticeably more serious as they recalled the situation that the two other boys were in. A race that would decide it all...

"...I don't know what to think." Byakuya admitted, rubbing her hand slowly over her forehead. "This is all just... really complicated. No matter which way it ends, it's going to affect both of them differently. It's just a matter of which outcome will be less... difficult."

The dark-haired girl shot Kou a worried glance. It must have been so much more difficult for the Matsuoka girl to figure out what to do than it was for her. Byakuya was simply a friend of the two; but Kou was Rin's sister as well as manager of the swim team. The internal strife going on inside her head must have been torturous...

"Well, we'll just have to see how it goes, then." Kou said suddenly, startling Byakuya with her firm voice. "It doesn't matter who wins; what's important is what comes after, that's all. No matter how it turns out, we just have to keep supporting them both!"

Byakuya blinked in surprise. Kou seemed so sure, so confident of the decision she had come to... she was a lot stronger than she looked, that girl. She was right- they would just stay by their friends' side all the same, win or lose. The outcome was secondary.

The dark-haired girl shut her eyes and gave a small smile. She had a lot to learn from the younger girl- sometimes the solution to the things you made out to be so complicated were actually rather simple; you just had to be able to see it.

"Well then, that's settled. We'll take things as they come, hm? As long as we stay positive... everything will turn out fine... Right?" Byakuya said, a small smile on her face.

"Definitely!" Kou responded enthusiastically, pumping her fist in the air as she grinned. "Now come on, we're getting you that blue swimsuit!"

"I'm taking that kneeskin too; I don't care what you say." Byakuya said quickly.

"Oh, come on!" Kou said exasperatedly as the two of them walked back towards the aisles of swimsuits.

Unconsciously, the bond between the two girls was strengthened that day- a silent agreement that they would each do their own part in aiding the people they cared for.

In a way, it was the beginning of their own little team.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

They were down to two days now to teach Rei how to swim. As the rest of the Iwatobi Swim Club sat by the poolside, the Ryugazaki boy jumped gracefully onto the starting block, running through his mental checklist out loud.

"Swimming cap, check. Prescription goggles, check. Not a speedo, check." He said to himself. The new swimsuit he had decided on was a black legskin which had blue stripes along the sides. Byakuya had to say- he looked good.

Of course in her opinion, Makoto looked a lot better in his new black, green-patterned legskin, but that may have just been her being extremely biased because of her crush.

But damn, he looked so much better in something that wasn't orange for once.

"He looks like a world-class swimmer from here." Makoto said appraisingly as they watched Rei.

"Maybe he'll actually manage to swim this time." Nagisa commented.

"Yep! I think this might work!" Kou added enthusiastically.

"I should hope so." Byakuya mumbled, her chin resting on her knees, which were pulled up to her chest.

Haruka was silent, but his sapphire eyes keenly observed the bluenette as he dried his hair with a towel.

Rei got into the starting position on the starting platform, arms touching the ground as he prepared to jump off. When he did...

"His entry angle is perfect!" Makoto commented excitedly as the boy dove into the water. The others all looked on eagerly as well, hopeful expressions on their faces.

Rei started performing the breaststroke as he entered the water, but like all the previous attempts, he was sinking and his stroke was getting him nowhere. He gasped for air as he was forced to stand yet again.

"Why?" He exclaimed in surprise and shock. He had tried everything- why wasn't it working?

The others by the edge of the pool despaired. However, a small splash caught their attention as Haruka swam towards Rei. The raven-haired boy surfaced in front of the Ryugazaki boy, shaking the loose water droplets from his hair before he addressed him.

"I'll teach you." He said simply. "You want to learn how to swim, right?"

Rei looked surprised that the senior was offering to teach him, but gratefully accepted it as he bowed. After all, it was Haruka who had inspired him to swim, and it would be a great honour to have him as his teacher. "P-please help me!"

"However," Haruka continued, catching Rei's attention. "I can only teach you free."

Rei seemed taken aback at the statement, trying to understand what Haruka meant. Did he mean the style, or did he mean without reservations, calculations and theory?

Rei guessed it was the latter. He steeled himself as he responded determinedly. "Yes!"

The others stared, surprise evident on their faces. "Haru's going to teach someone how to swim?" Makoto exclaimed.

"Bringing in the big guns!" Nagisa said, grinning at his friends. They all returned his enthusiastic smile, glad for the positive change of events.

That is, almost all of them.

Byakuya's hands gripped her knees tighter as she pulled them closer to her chest, a million thoughts running through her head.

"Free..."

* * *

><p>For the rest of the day, Haruka coached Rei slowly- showing him the arm movements, giving him advice on floating and the like. The watched from the sidelines while they trained, and were noticing small improvements in Rei's basic foundation. He seemed to understand the concept better, and his confidence was growing again.<p>

By the end of the afternoon, Haruka had finished with his teachings and Rei was panting slightly from the training.

"That's everything I have to teach you. The rest is up to you." Haruka said calmly. "Believe in yourself."

"Yes!" Rei said in affirmation. He was sure he could do it now, and had taken every bit of Haru's advice to heart- down to every last word. He put on his goggles and submerged himself in the water, bracing his feet against the wall. Haruka looked on expectantly, and the others did the same as they held their breath in anticipation.

Rei kicked off, going ahead about 2 feet and started with the dolphin kick. He began the frontcrawl stroke, circling his arms in alternation as he did so. It would have been the perfect stroke...

...had it not been for the fact that he was still sinking and getting nowhere.

Haruka's expression darkened noticeably. The others deadpanned as well.

When Rei stood up again for air, he let out a yell that resonated through the skies.

"WHY?" He cried out in exasperation. Couldn't anything work for him?!

"Genius is one percent inspirarion and ninety nine percent perpsiration." Miss Amakata quoted as she stood next to her students, adjusting her hold on her umbrella.

"Isn't that a quote from Edison?" Makoto asked.

"So that means hard work will always triumph over natural talent." Kou stated.

"'Always' is a big word." Byakuya mused thoughtfully, her thoughts going back to Rin. She remembered how hard he worked to get closer to his dream of being an Olympic swimmer, and how in the end, he had lost to Haru in middle school anyway. Did hard work really produce better results?

"I guess he'll have to keep on practicing." Nagisa sighed. The others followed suit. This was tiring...

"However," Miss Amakata continued. "You can also interpret Edison's quote to mean that hard work is nothing without that flash of inspiration." She said sagely, before her voice lightened and she struck a demure pose. "Don't you think?"

"A rejection of hard work?!" Kou exclaimed loudly. Nagisa and Makoto also wore expressions of similar disbelief.

"Not necessarily a rejection." Byakuya mused. "Talent without effort is pointless, and hard work without truly understanding it is the same. One sidedness will result in nothing- you need balance if you are to succeed."

"That kind of interpretation would've gotten you some pretty good marks in your Literature exam, Byakuya-chan!" Miss Amakata said appraisingly.

"It's a general observation." Byakuya mumbled, scratching her cheek awkwardly at the compliment.

"Well, Literature is mostly about general observations anyway." Makoto added kindly.

"My general observations are barely passable then." She scoffed.

"You just need to use your head more, Bya-kun!" Nagisa said cheerily.

"Are you saying I don't?"

"Do you?"

Byakuya pushed him into the pool again.

* * *

><p>Rei sat despondently on the far side of the swimming pool, arms on his knees as he stared idly through the fence of the compound at a butterfly flitting through the flowers. He was absolutely disappointed in himself- it was the first time he had ever failed at something he had tried so hard to achieve, and it wounded him pretty deeply. His confidence was at an all-time low, and he felt too embarassed to face the others because of his failure.<p>

He heard the sound of footsteps approaching him, and looked up to see Haruka standing before him.

"Haruka-senpai..." Rei trailed off. He didn't know what to say to the person whose skills he admired so much. He must be so disappointed in him...

"Do what you want." Haruka said suddenly, catching Rei's attention.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked. He'd been wondering that for a while now- Haruka was always going in about being free, but Rei really didn't understand exactly what that meant.

"Don't think about swimming. Just dive in." Haruka answered simply.

"I don't understand what you mean." Rei said, almost impatiently. What did Haruka expect him to do? 'Just dive in'? How was he supposed to do that when he couldn't swim properly? What would that garner?

Haruka was silent for a while as he contemplated another answer. "Dive in with your heart."

"That doesn't really help."

"Go by your senses."

"Can you stop using abstract expressions?"

Rei gazed back at the ground, his mood growing heavier. "How can I learn to swim as freely as you do?" Rei sighed. It looked like he really didn't understand the concept of freedom that Haruka spoke of, as much as he longed to. It was difficult.

"I'm very frustrated. Why can't I swim?" He asked, his tone melancholy.

Haruka's eyes softened as he heard Rei say that. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if he couldn't swim- the one thing he loved the most. It would kill him. And the way Rei's voice sounded when he'd said that...

"Or else... I can't move on."

...It was just like Rin's, when he had spoken to him yesterday. Lost, confused, pleading.

"...I'm not free either." Haruka stated, his voice almost sad as he said so.

That caught Rei's attention. He looked up at the older boy, not quite comprehending his statement. What did he mean by that? Haruka always looked so happy and at peace when he swam...how was he not free?

The butterfly from earlier flapped its delicate wings and flew towards Haruka, landing on his collarbone. Rei just stared at Haruka in questioning, a silent prompt for him to explain.

On the other side of the pool, Nagisa, Makoto and Byakuya were drying themselves off and were going to head back to the locker rooms.

"What are Haru-chan and Rei-chan doing?" Nagisa asked curiously as he spotted the two boys, intending to head towards them. Byakuya's hand on his shoulder stopped him from doing so, however, and he glanced back inquisitively.

"Nagisa." Makoto called out. "Leave them alone for a while... I have a feeling they have a lot in common."

The three of them looked back at the two boys, and gave a small smile. Haruka had seated himself next to Rei, and while they weren't saying anything for now, they both sat in the exact same positions, wearing the same expressions, too.

"Yeah. I think you're right." Nagisa said in agreement.

Byakuya didn't say anything as she stared at the scene before her, though a small flutter caught her eye. She turned her attention to a small butterfly that was flitting around in front of the two boys, and the gears in her mind started turning.

"Well, if you ask me, the butterfly just needs to up his game."

"Some swimmers use the butterfly stroke as well."

They had tried teaching Rei all the basic strokes that beginners normally learned, but there was one last thing they hadn't tried- the one stroke that was normally reserved for those with more experience; and arguably the hardest to learn. It was also her worst stroke.

Byakuya bit her thumb in contemplation. It was an idea, but what if it didn't work? Edison's quote came back to her mind just then- inspiration and hard work...

Rei definitely had hard work down. Maybe all he needed was another burst of inspiration.

And maybe... all she needed was a bit of hard work.

* * *

><p>That evening, Rei received a text message when he was studying at his study desk. He started slightly before picking up his phone to identify the sender.<p>

"...Byakuya-senpai?" He muttered, somewhat confused. The text message consisted of a few links to several websites, and a written message from Byakuya herself at then end.

"Meet me at the pool immediately after school. We're only gonna have half an hour before practice, so read up, Butterfly-chan."

"'Butterfly-chan'?!" He exclaimed. Where had that come from?

Shaking his head at the weird nickname, Rei ignored it for now and opened one of the links to check it out. When he registered what he was seeing, his eyes widened in surprise.

They were all articles on the technique of the butterfly stroke.

* * *

><p>"Punctual. I like that." Byakuya commented, smirking at Rei as he jogged up the steps to the swimming pool.<p>

"Time is of the essence." He replied simply as he adjusted his glasses, though he appeared somewhat hesitant. "...Are you sure about this, Shion-senpai?"

"We won't know until we try now, will we?" She replied, lowering herself into the pool and gesturing for Rei to do the same.

"But this stroke is said to be the hardest to learn; especially for beginners." Rei continued skeptically as he entered the water as well.

"Normally, yes. But sometimes you gotta try something that goes against the norm, y'know? So whaddya say; you willing to give it a shot?"

Rei considered the Shion girl's words for a while and averted his gaze. After his previous failed attempts at swimming, he was highly doubtful that he could pull this off. And he really didn't want to embarass himself again...

A hand on his shoulder made him look back up at Byakuya. The girl's brown eyes were understanding, and when she spoke again, her voice was soft.

"It's okay to be afraid of failing, Ryugazaki-san- Heaven knows everyone is. But there are times when you just have to take the risk." She said, her brown eyes boring into his own violet ones. "...Sometimes you have to fall a few times before you learn to stand."

Byakuya quietly wished she could take her own advice.

Rei started slightly at the senior's words. He was surprised that she could sense his hesitation about the whole thing, but the way she had said that... he could tell they weren't just empty words- she was speaking from her own experiences. Byakuya suffered from the same anxiety he was feeling, and for some reason, that thought gave him a small push.

"...I understand. Please teach me, Shion-senpai!" He said determinedly.

Byakuya smirked at that. "Good. First thing's first- it's Byakuya. Second thing, did you read up on the stroke?"

"Yes, Sh- I mean, Byakuya-senpai."

"Right. So do you understand the concept behind it?"

"I believe so."

"Demonstrate the stroke for me, then."

"What?"

"Just the arm movements first. Show me what you know, and I'll lead you from there. I need to see what you understand so far."

"But surely my theory would differ from what the proper technique?"

"Ah ah ah," Byakuya tutted, smirking. "Trust me. Just go along with it for now."

As Byakuya guided Rei through the basics of the technique, he found himself surprised at the girl's teaching method- it was completely different from what Haruka and the others had done. Byakuya's way relied more on his own independence than her teaching- that was why she had sent him the articles, to get him to try and understand the concept of the stroke in his own way so that she could conform her guidance to help his technique. She also allowed Rei to add his own touch to the stroke to make it more comfortable for him to use, yet still remaining just as effective.

It was a strange and rather unorthodox way to teach someone how to swim, but Rei found that he could adapt to it quite well. As Byakuya continued to give Rei advice on his swimming, he realized just how observant the senior could be, despite her normally laid back demeanour. It increased his repect for her, and as their lesson progressed, he found it easier to address her by her first name. She in turn did the same.

Luck seemed to be on Rei's side, because right before the actual practice began, he had finally learned how to swim.

* * *

><p>"Since it's come to this, let's have him use a kickboard during the tournament!" Nagisa suggested, brandishing a kickboard he had brought with him for emphasis.<p>

"Do the rules allow that?" Kou inquired as they made their way out of the locker rooms.

"That's an option." Makoto mused thoughtfully. "I don't think the rules prohibit it."

"We're gonna have to look that up!" Nagisa said determinedly.

"Remember to breathe!" Byakuya's voice rang out as the three of them reached the pool, gaining their attention. "Try to move your torso more!"

"Byaku-chan is early today." Makoto commented.

"But who is she talking to?" Nagisa said curiously.

"Oh, someone's doing butterfly." Kou pointed out, gesturing to the figure in the water that was performing the stroke. Byakuya was standing by the side of the pool, occasionally shouting out instructions to the swimmer.

"Is that Haru-chan?" Nagisa inquired.

"But Haru only does free." Makoto pointed out, his own curiosity piqued.

"That's not me." Haruka said suddenly, appearing behind the three of them.

"Haru?!" Makoto exclaimed.

"That means..." Kou and the others gasped in realization as a familiar bluenette surfaced from the water and pulled off his goggles.

"You did great, Rei-kun!" Byakuya praised, a grin on her face as she passed Rei his glasses.

"Rei-chan?!" Nagisa said in surprise, running up to the edge of the pool with the others. "Were you just swimming butterfly?!"

"It was the only stroke I hadn't tried out yet." Rei explained, breathing slightly heavy as he put on his red frames. "Byakuya-senpai helped to give me a few pointers, and once I tried it, I was able to swim."

"What? Why?!" The three of the exclaimed in shock. Butterfly was supposed to be the hardest of all the steokes to learn, and yet this was the one he could do?

"You taught him, Bya-kun?!" Nagisa asked in shock.

"I didn't really do much. He read up on the technique by himself- I only corrected him where it was necessary." Byakuya said nonchalantly. "Plus, you guys taught him the basics."

"But I wouldn't have been able to do it without your guidance, Byakuya-senpai." Rei said humbly, bowing his head. "Thank you very much!"

"Don't need to be so formal." Byakuya said simply, though she seemed to be flushing slightly as she averted her gaze.

Makoto glanced at the girl and smiled, ruffling her hair. She really was horribly awkward with praise- it was a trait he found to be quite endearing.

"But how did you manage to pull it off, Rei-kun?" Kou inquired. "Butterfly is supposed to be really hard."

"Well..." Rei trailed off, glancing in Haru's direction. The raven-haired boy was standing by the side of the pool, observing the same butterfly from yesterday. He held up his index finger, allowing the butterfly to perch on it briefly, a slightly wistful expression on his face.

"I'm not free." Rei finished quietly.

"Did you say something, Rei-chan?" Nagisa inquired.

The bluenette just smiled, shutting his eyes for a brief moment. "No, I can't explain it either."

"Seriously? " Kou sighed.

"Well, I guess it worked out in the end, then." Makoto said happily.

"Hey, Rei-chan! Can you do another lap?" Nagisa asked enthusiastically.

"Sure!" Rei replied with confidence as he put on his goggles and swim cap once more. He was glad to be able to swim- he was able to feel more dignified now.

"Show 'em what you got, Butterfly-chan." Byakuya said, smirking.

"Could you please stop it with that nickname?" Rei said exasperatedly.

"Nope."

"Where'd that come from, Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked.

"I was talking to Ao-nii."

"I see."

"It suits Rei-chan really well!" Nagisa commented cheerily.

"Yep! It fits perfectly!" Kou added.

Rei sighed, but smiled as he shot a grateful glance at his new teammates. He turned back towards the pool, beginning yet another lap. The others cheered him on as he did so, making the smile on his face grow wider. It was really thanks to all of them that he had gotten this far- he would do his best to make them proud.

Byakuya looked on with pride, her happiness for the boy's success evident in her expression. She felt like she had accomplished something- that she had managed to get something right. In the end, she hadn't disappointed him, and that made her happier than anything else.

On the sidelines, Haruka watched Rei swim with a thoughtful expression on his face. Eventually, the corners of his lips turned up in a small smile. He turned his gaze to the two butterflies flying above the pool, watching as they danced in the air, a serene expression on his face.

Perhaps, one day... they could be like those butterflies- able to fly freely through the sky without fear in their hearts.

* * *

><p>AN: So that's that. Episode 4 has come to a close! Next up, episode 5, the episode which ruined our lives for a whole week 8'D. Let me just say that episodes 5-6 were sorta tough to write- not just because of all the action that went on, but also because I am a terribly awkward romance writer (hint hint).<p>

Loads of thanks to Savage Kill and AmIValid again for reviewing (you guys QwQ), LostRealist and DrAnime203 for favouriting this fic, AriaNicole94 for adding this story to your favourites and alerts, and samehime345 for doing the same as well as favouriting and following my profile (PS, big fan of your Snow Queen fic asdfghjkl)! *gives you all cyber huggles* xD

Thank you all for reading this chapter! See you next water time!


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

Byakuya kept her breathing steady as she jogged along the paths not too far from her neighbourhood. She still had about half an hour before she had to leave for school, and so far she had run up to the hill where she and the others had first met up with Kou to discuss the issue of Rin's return to Iwatobi. She let herself smile slightly as she jogged past the familiar rotunda- it seemed like ages ago when things had started like this, though it had barely been a couple of months. Quite a bit had changed since then...

The Shion girl had taken it upon herself to run a kilometer or two every couple of days to help build her stamina back up. Getting up early was still- and always would be- a total pain, but she was gradually getting used to the new routine. She also found herself admiring the lovely view of Iwatobi in the light of the morning sun, and the freshness of the air in the early hours of the day.

It hadn't been quite so lovely that one time when it had started pouring halfway through her run, though. She'd learned to check the weather forecasts every day since that incident.

Byakuya quietly sang along to the chorus of the song she was listening to, the music from her phone blaring into her ears through her earphones. It made a nice pacemaker for her run, and she found it easier for her to maintain a steadier breathing rhythm- another thing she had been working on. A sudden ringing from her cellphone brought her out of her focus though, and she huffed irritably as she paused her music and answered the call.

"Yo." She answered, not bothering to stop her run as she did so. She hadn't really bothered to check the caller ID either- though since hardly anyone else called her up, she figured it would be okay to answer in such an informal manner.

"Shion-senpai?" A familiar voice asked.

"'Morning, Nitori-kun." Byakuya responded. She had started addressing the boy with a more familiar suffix as time went by, though he still insisted on calling her the same thing he always did. They had even started communicating through text messages like normal pals sometimes- regular conversations which weren't entirely focused on Rin."You don't normally call- something up?"

"Ah well, you see, senpai..." Nitori replied. "We'll be going out of town to attend a training camp, and I might not be in touch for a while. I thought I'd let you know, and I hope you don't mind..."

"Nah, it's cool." Byakuya reassured, smirking slightly at how formal Nitori was being- he really was very polite. "Have fun, Pilotfish."

The nickname was yet another result of a conversation she'd had with her brother. She could've sworn his abnormal tendencies were rubbing off on her...

"E-eh? Pilotfish?"

"Don't question it."

"Uhm, okay then. Thank you for understanding, senpai."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're allowed to have your priorities."

Nitori chuckled slightly on the other end of the line.

"You're actually really nice, Shion-senpai."

"No I'm not." The girl denied, flushing slightly at the compliment as she rounded the bend that would take her back down the stairs leading to her neighbourhood.

"But you are!"

"You clearly do not know me."

"You wouldn't have asked me to keep you updated on Matsuoka-senpai's progress if you weren't."

"That's because I don't want the fool to work himself to death." Byakuya said as she reached her front door, panting slightly as she placed an arm on the wall to support herself.

"But that's being nice!"

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for your classes or something?" Byakuya grumbled, trying to change the topic. Nitori laughed again, amused by the girl's vehement denial.

"Alright, thanks for your time, senpai! I'll message you when we get back!"

"Right. See ya." Byakuya replied before she ended the call. She huffed again as she straightened up and took out her house keys, mumbling unintelligibly to herself as she did so.

"Did you have a nice run?"

Byakuya nearly dropped her keys and screamed when she heard that voice suddenly speak out from behind her- she hadn't even noticed that someone was there. Thankfully, her mind registered the owner of the voice before she could do something embarassing.

"Makoto! Don't do that!" She huffed, placing a hand over her racing heart. She still hadn't turned around, but there was no mistaking that voice. Makoto laughed quietly in response, making Byakuya's face flush further as she regained a proper hold on her keys and unlocked her front door.

"Sorry." He apologized sheepishly as they both walked through the door. "I didn't realize that you hadn't noticed me."

"Yeah, well, I didn't. And you're lucky I didn't sock you in the eye." She grumbled. "You're early today."

"I was worried you would have overslept again." He replied nochalantly, shooting the girl a knowing smile.

"I do wake up early sometimes, y'know." Byakuya said blandly as she went into the kitchen and grabbed a sandwich she had made earlier.

"Only sometimes." Makoto teased.

"Don't be an ass." Byakuya laughed.

"Ah, that's right, I meant to ask- who were you talking to on the phone earlier?" Makoto inquired.

"Oh, it was just Nitori-kun. He was informing me that Samezuka's having a training camp."

"'Nitori-kun?'" Makoto repeated, tilting his head slightly. "That guy from Samezuka? When did you get on such good terms with him?"

The girl chewed thoughtfully on her sandwich for a moment before she answered. "I asked him to keep an eye on Rin-kun during the joint practice. We exchanged numbers."

"You gave your contact to a guy you just met?" Makoto asked skeptically.

"He wasn't a stranger on the street, Mako. 'Sides, we need someone to keep tabs on Rin-kun since we can't. Nitori-kun updates me on his condition every now and then."

"Still, you seem pretty friendly with him."

"Well, I think he's cute."

"Wh-what?!"

"What?" Byakuya said confusedly, before she realized what she'd said and started laughing. "Oh, not that kind of cute! I'm talking puppy-dog kind of cute!"

"Oh..." Makoto gave a small sigh of relief.

"Don't worry, Mako- if I ever take an interest in anyone, I'll make sure to run him by you first. You can do a security check, make sure he has no criminal record or anything."

"Criminal record?!"

"You never know."

"Just go and shower already." Makoto said, playfully pushing her towards the staircase. Byakuya laughed as she complied, heading towards her room.

"I'll be down in a few." She called out, before the sound of her door shutting rang out around the mostly empty house.

"Yeah..." Makoto replied to no one in particular, his gaze growing somewhat despondent as he thought over what his friend had said. He was still somewhat uncomfortable that Byakuya had given her number to someone she barely knew; let alone a guy... Did she really think Nitori was cute?

Makoto sighed and placed a hand over his forehead. This crush was ruining him.

* * *

><p>Kou kneeled on the floor, back straight as she faced the large sheet of paper before her. A bottle of ink was placed on her right, along with an ink stone where the ink had already been poured out onto, and she held a large calligraphy brush in her hand.<p>

The rest of the Iwatobi Swim Club stood by the side, watching with mild interest as Kou dipped her brush into the ink.

With a fluorish, Kou began her writing immediately, brush moving in smooth, precise strokes as she did so. When she finally finished, she sat back up with a satisfied hum as she looked at what she had written on the paper.

'48 Days Until the Prefectural Tournament!'

"Gou-chan, you're still doing those?" Nagisa asked curiously. It was rather strange how much detail the girl liked to put into her duties...

"You're really into calligraphy, aren't you?" Byakuya mused, admiring the girl's neat handwriting.

"Can you stop doing that?" Rei asked, his voice exasperated. The girl had to have made at least 50 of those countdown sheets already.

"Pressure is what pushes people to the next level!" Kou defended.

"Pressure can also ruin some people." Haruka pointed out.

"Are you talking about Rei-chan?" Nagisa said cheekily. Rei blanched.

"I'm not that weak!" He said defensively.

"You nearly had a fit when you got an 89 on your Chemistry test." Byakuya commented.

"There was a mistake in the grading scheme! And how do you even know about that?!"

"I have my ways."

"You've been stalking him."

"What?!"

"I'm disappointed that you think so lowly of me, Haru-kun."

"Bya-kun is too lazy to go through that much trouble."

"Exactly."

"We're getting off topic here!" Rei exclaimed, his eye twitching. Makoto let out a small laugh at the conversation they were all having, before a serious issue popped into his head.

"Wait..." he said, placing a hand on his chin as he directed the question at Kou."Why are you wearing a hakama?"

"Maybe it makes her feel more feminine." Byakuya suggested.

Kou glared at them with such viciousness that all the hairs on the back of their necks stood. In less than 3 seconds, the members of the Iwatobi swim team were out of the locker rooms, running for dear life towards the swimming pool.

"Stop talking and go practice!" Kou yelled. "Get going!"

"Yessir!" Byakuya shouted back, a grin on her face. It was always fun to irk Kou- she had the best reactions.

"Honestly..." Kou sighed, her hands on her hips as she stared at the open door of the locker room, where the teens had run out from. Being the manager for these guys was going to give her a head of white hair before the year was out.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the door, billowing the girl's hair and hakama. When she turned around, she exclaimed as she realized that all the sheets of paper she had written on had scattered all over the place because of the wind.

"Oh man! This is such a pain.." She groaned, moving to pick up the papers. There were a lot of them, too...

"What's this?" She mumbled to herself as she spotted something under the mat of the locker room floor. She picked it up- it was a folded piece of paper- and looked it over curiously. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had found.

"This is...!"

* * *

><p>"Look at this!" Nagisa said enthusiastically, showing off the sports jacket he had put on. It was mostly blue and white, with long sleeves and 'Iwatobi' printed across the back. "Our new tracksuits have arrived!"<p>

"Wow, this actually looks really cool." Byakuya mused, lifting up another one of the jackets to get a better look at it. Despite what Kou had said earlier about not allowing them to get matching jackets, a little bit of coaxing on Nagisa's part had settled that problem quickly, even though they had to use their own money.

Byakuya often wondered if Nagisa was a wizard.

"The jackets are nice..." Rei commented, lifting up the back of the one Nagisa was modelling. Underneath, Nagisa was wearing a yellow shirt with a caricature of a penguin and a coconut. "But what is that thing on the T-shirt?"

"That's the secret Iwatobi-chan version." Nagisa explained. "Since you and Bya-kun were against putting Iwatobi-chan on our tracksuits.

"Wait, so there's a secret version?!" Rei asked in surprise.

"Is Iwatobi-chan having an emo phase or something?" Byakuya muttered. The shading and the expression (if you could call it that) of the school mascot certainly made it look more serious and dark than it normally looked.

"You would know, wouldn't you, senpai?"

"Was that sass I heard, Butterfly-chan?"

"Well, let's get started." Mako interrupted, gaining their attentions. "Before we begin practice, let's all review the events we'll be taking part in during the prefecturals. I'll be taking part in the 100m and 200m backstroke. What are you doing, Nagisa?"

"I'm going to swim breast." The blonde replied. "I was thinking the 100m and 200m."

"Byaku-chan?"

"100m free." Byakuya responded. She would be competing in the women's events, which was seperated from the men's, so she would be the only girl representing the swim club. It was sort of pressuring, but it was worth a shot.

"Haru?"

"I only swim free." Haruka said simply.

"Shouldn't have bothered to ask." Makoto chuckled. "And Rei?"

"I can only swim butterfly." Rei said, adjusting his glasses.

"That's right!" Nagisa added cheekily, leaning against the bluenette.

"Anyway, it's been a while since we've competed, so stamina will be an issue." Makoto said. "I recommend sticking to shorter distances."

"Are you guys going to be taking part in the relay as well?" Byakuya asked curiously. Since they had all the members they needed, they could definitely go for it.

"I think we can wait before we make that decision." Makoto said, glancing at Haruka, who had looked away at the mention of the relay. Byakuya nodded in understanding.

"Keep that in mind as we're prac-"

"You guys won't believe this!" Kou's voice rang out excitedly, cutting Makoto off in the middle of his sentence. The girl came running up to the five of them eagerly as she held up a poster. "I found something amazing!"

Byakuya leaned forth to get a closer look at the thing. On the poster was a drawing of what looked to be a beach, with a campfire sitting in the middle of the sand. Huge waves roiling in the ocean served as the backdrop, and large words were printed across the poster.

"Iwatobi High School Swim Club." Makoto read aloud. "Summer Training Camp from Hell on a Deserted Island...?"

"Hell?" Rei said skeptically. That sounded rather over dramatic.

"Deserted island?" Haruka added.

"Someone's been watching too many movies." Byakuya commented.

"Sounds fun!" Nagisa said enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling.

"This took place several decades ago, when Iwatobi still had a swim club!" Kou explained.

"So what's your point?" Rei asked.

"I'm saying we should steal their training regimen and hold a summer training camp on a deserted island! To prepare for prefecturals!" Kou finished exuberantly, striking a dramatic pose as she pointed into the distance.

Byakuya's eyes widened. If they were going to train on an island, then that meant...

The sea.

"Too much effort." Haruka said, sitting down by the edge of the pool. As he did so, he shot a glance at Byakuya, sending her a silent message. The girl understood immediately.

"Yeah. Come on..." Byakuya groaned. "It's a pain in the ass."

"This is no time for complaining!" Kou snapped, brandishing another sheet of paper. It looked like a map of sorts, showing four islands and several directional arrows.

"Look at the regimen they used! They swam long distances in the ocean, from one deserted island to the next! Don't you think this training is perfect for building stamina?"

"The ocean..." Makoto muttered quietly. Byakuya shot him a worried look- Makoto's normally gentle face was downcast, as if a dark cloud had settled over him.

"Yep! The ocean!" Kou said happily.

"I'd rather not." Byakuya complained.

"We have to!" Kou insisted. "What better way to train ourselves than to participate in the same training regimen our storied swim club used?!"

"Our swim club was storied?" Nagisa asked curiously.

"Yeah! Look what I found!" Kou said, bringing out yet another paper- this one listed out a bunch of school names and positions.

"Sixth place in the Iwatobi Junior Tournament?" Rei read out, his voice unimpressed.

"Weak." Both he and Nagisa deadpanned.

"Anyway!" Kou interrupted, albeit annoyed. "What the Iwatobi Swim Team needs now is stamina! And summer is the perfect time to hold a training camp! In the ocean! On deserted islands!"

"Wait, I don't really see the relevance of deserted islands here!" Rei exclaimed.

"But deserted islands make it more interesting!"

"You have any idea how hot it is on islands this time of the year?" Byakuya groaned.

"Don't be such a party pooper, Bya-kun!" Nagisa whined, hanging off Byakuya's arm. "Didn't you say you were going to start taking on your responsibilities?"

"Doesn't stop me from feeling lazy." Byakuya mumbled out, shuffling uncomfortably. Nagisa was right, but... this was a different story.

"You're a hypocrite, Bya-kunnn..." Nagisa whined, shaking her arm. She refused to budge.

"It's your call, Captain!" Kou said, pulling the authority card. If Makoto agreed to it, then the others would have to go along. The three underclassmen all turned to Makoto with expectant expressions, while Haruka and Byakuya stoically kept their gazes on the pool with bated breath- now that the pressure had been placed on Makoto to call the shots, there was really nothing more the two of them could do to interfere.

"Oh..." Makoto said uneasily. His heart was pounding- the decision he had to make would affect not only him; but the others as well. As uncomfortable as he was with the idea... he was their captain, and he needed to do what was best for the team.

"I guess it's a good idea to hold a training camp for prefecturals." He complied, forcing a smile to his face.

"Yippee!" Kou cheered.

"Hurray! It's settled then!" Nagisa said happily.

Haruka didn't move as he sat by the edge of the pool, face blank as he stared at his reflection in the clear water. Similarly, Byakuya's eyes shut briefly, and she muttered a curse under her breath. This could be trouble...

* * *

><p>"The club doesn't have the money for that." Miss Amakata said curtly as she arranged some papers on her desk.<p>

"Then we can get our generous faculty advisor to pay for it!" Nagisa said cheerily.

"Ass-kisser." Byakuya muttered- this time making sure that Nagisa couldn't hear her. She couldn't help but feel an immense relief at Miss Amakata's statement, though.

"I'm not that generous!" Miss Amakata said indignantly, resulting in a sheepish laugh from Nagisa. "Besides, people only get that lucky in TV shows and manga. The Irish playwriter, George Bernard Shaw said it best- 'the book that has had the most influence on my life is my cheque book.'"

"Finally, a quote that speaks to me." Byakuya commented.

"You are a horrible senpai." Kou said exasperatedly.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>Byakuya idly looked through the fridge in the grocery store they had stopped by at on the way home after school, trying to decide which drink to buy. She finally settled on a can of soda, and made a move to close the fridge door before she noticed Rei standing beside her.<p>

"Oh, Rei-kun." She said, mildly surprised. "Any drink you want?"

"A box of chocolate milk, if you wouldn't mind, senpai." He replied. Byakuya passed him the drink he asked for.

"Not interested in getting an ice cream like the others?"

"I'm not too hungry at the moment."

"I see."

"...Byakuya-senpai, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to ask you something." Rei said seriously. Byakuya raised a brow.

"Fire away."

"Why were you so adamant about not holding the training camp?"

Byakuya paused at that. She quickly thought up an excuse.

"I was serious about it being a pain. We have to arrange for a boat, then there's the issue of where we'd be staying..."

"Still, your reaction was rather... off, senpai." Rei said, pushing up his glasses. "It was unlike you to complain so much."

"Ehe, right... I forgot you were new." Byakuya said sheepishly as she rubbed her forehead. "I used to do that a lot."

"Not quite so much now, though?"

"I guess not."

"So what caused it again?"

Byakuya shifted her footing hesitantly. She cursed Rei's observant tendencies- how was she going to lie out of this one?

Thankfully, that issue was solved for her.

"Bya-kun! Rei-chan! We have to pay for our stuff!" Nagisa called out, turning their attention to the rest of their group. They had already chosen their popsicles, and were waiting for them at the counter.

"Gotcha!" Byakuya replied, walking towards the counter with Rei. He was still giving her an inquisitive look, and she shot an apologetic glance at him.

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with." Byakuya said, averting her gaze.

"Are you sure about it, senpai?" He asked insistently.

"What were you two talking about?" Kou asked as the two reached the counter. Byakuya jumped on the opportunity to change the subject immediately.

"Pep talk. Rei-kun's actually going through this emo phase." Byakuya responded.

"What?!" Rei exclaimed.

"Rei-chan is depressed?" Nagisa said.

"I am not!"

"Don't be sad, Rei-chan!"

"I'm not depressed!"

"You did that on purpose." Makoto accused Byakuya as the blonde and the bluenette bickered lightly. The girl just shrugged in response- that was what Rei got for the earlier jab. Poetic and almost ironic justice, she had to say.

* * *

><p>"But I really want to go to a deserted island with everyone..." Nagisa said despondently as they all continued their walk home. "If the school won't pay for it, maybe we can try to pay for it ourselves?"<p>

"I can't afford it." Rei said. "We had to pay for the tracksuits ourselves, and I bought a non-speedo swimsuit."

"I also bought a swimsuit." Haruka added.

"Me too!" Nagisa said.

"Rei-kun needed to buy a swimsuit, but the rest of you didn't need to buy one." Kou sighed. "Especially Haruka-senpai; all your swimsuits look the same."

"They fit differently." Haruka defended monotonously. He was sharing one half of a split popsicle with Makoto, and was absently nibbling on it before he had responded.

"You made me buy the blue one." Byakuya accused, making Kou laugh nervously.

"We could all find part-time jobs." Nagisa suggested.

"It's too late for that." Rei rebutted.

"Unfortunately, it looks like this plan's a bust." Kou said disappointedly.

"Maybe not so unfortunately." Byakuya mumbled quietly, sipping on her drink. Next to her, Haruka gave a small "hm" in agreement.

Makoto gazed at the despondent figures of the three underclassmen walking in front of him, his eyes softening. They all looked utterly disappointed, and it made his paternal side kick in, overriding his own worries.

"Wait." Makoto called out, making them stop in their tracks and turn around curiously. "I'll think of something. There should to be a way to arrange a camp without needing money."

"For real?!" Kou and Nagisa said in unison, expressions of pure glee on their faces.

"Mako-chan's getting serious!"

"We can count on our captain!"

Makoto just smiled in response.

Haruka glanced over at his friend, a small frown on his face. What was he doing? They could have just gotten out of this without any fuss after what they had found out... why was he suggesting this?

The black-haired boy returned his attention to his popsicle, taking a somewhat harsher bite out of it than he had intended. He was worried about his best friend, and what this trip could result in for him. He was also somewhat irked at Makoto as well...

He caught Byakuya's eye- from the way her lips had thinned slightly, he knew she was thinking the same thing he was.

Makoto really was too selfless for his own good.

* * *

><p>"Whatcha doing, onii-chan?" Ran asked as she grasped onto her older brother's arm. Makoto was trying to carry out a a large sack of equipment from the closet, grunting slightly from the effort.<p>

"Are you going camping? I wanna come!" Ren added, jumping onto his brother's shoulder.

"I've got a training camp with Haru and everyone else." Makoto said apologetically. "Maybe some other time."

"What? That's no fair..." the twins complained at the same time.

"Byaku-nee~ can't you convince onii-chan to let us come?" Ran implored, turning towards the girl who was standing behind them.

"Sorry, kiddos. Not this time." She said, carrying Ren off of Makoto- the kid was getting heavier, and Mako didn't really need the extra weight on him when he was trying to carry out such a huge bag of equipment.

"Awww..."

"Oh, don't give me that look..." Byakuya sighed. "Tell you what, I owe you guys an hour of video gaming when we get back, okay?"

"Make it two!" Ren compromised.

"Okay, fine. Two."

"And you have to help us beat that boss on level 32!"

"Alright, alright."

"Yes!" The twins cheered, wrapping their arms around Byakuya, disappointment over not being able to attend the camp gone in a flash. Makoto laughed and shot Byakuya a grateful look, which made the girl bite her lip as she looked away. She didn't deserve his thanks, especially since he was doing this for their sakes...

Outside, the rest of the swim team stood idly in the front yard as they waited for Makoto to get the things he needed.

"His idea is to literally camp outside?" Kou asked. "And what do we do about the boat fare to the island?"

"Are we gonna hitchhike?" Nagisa suggested.

"There aren't any cars or trucks in the ocean." Kou said exasperatedly. Rei had by this point stopped listening to the conversation going on around him, and quietly observed the yard he was standing in. It was rather well-kept and the plants were flourishing rather nicely, though something in particular caught his eye.

"What's this?" Rei asked as he made his way towards the thing that had caught his attention. It was a glass bottle filled with water that was placed in front of a big rock, with a bunch of wildflowers placed inside it.

"A grave for goldfish." Haruka answered. "It was Makoto's pet."

"Oh yeah, he had a pet goldfish back in grade school. So this is still here..." Nagisa commented, walking towards the small grave as well, his expression somewhat wistful. He clapped his hands together and said a small prayer for the dead goldfish, and Rei mimicked his actions.

As Haruka stared at his two teammates, his mind wandered back to Makoto. The grave held a lot of importance to his friend, and it was also closely related to the situation at hand- though the others didn't really know that. He wondered how things could be different if they knew the whole truth... it would definitely make them reconsider their options.

But as much as he wanted to make them change their minds, it wasn't his place. It was up to Makoto, and Haru knew there was no way the boy would ever bring up his own worries to the others- his best friend was too kind to place his concerns on them for his own needs. Haruka wanted to talk Makoto out of it, but...

He shut his ocean-blue eyes and gave a small sigh. This was worrisome.

* * *

><p>AN: What's this? An extra update? :0 Haha, okay, jokes aside- extra update today because I have hols this week. Hols= More chapter production= more updates. Woot. The Wednesday update is gonna be sorta short, but I hope I'll make up for it! Also, I was thinking of writing a short filler of sorts about the group during their time on the island (I mean, cmon, those pictures they took are way too inspirational XD) and I was wondering if that would be okay with you guys? Or would you prefer that I get straight to episode 7 after the events of 6? If ya'll are for it, I'll see if I can whip something up- and if you guys would like to suggest any prompts, they'll be greatly appreciated! ;D<p>

Shout out to Savage Kill (as per usual ;D) for reviewing again, keulloi, CallingTheStorm and Ducky the Insomniac Panda (dat username xDD) for favouriting and following this story, and In Love With Rin for doing the above as well as favouriting and following my profile! Ya'll are too sweet 8'D


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"This is some serious equipment." Kou commented as she looked at all the equipment Makoto had laid out. It was a rather impressive set.

"Our family always goes camping in the summer." Makoto explained.

"Does Bya-kun go with you guys, too?" Nagisa asked.

"No, I just hog the Playstation during that time." Byakuya replied.

"Who gave you permission to use my place as storage?" Haruka interjected, his tone somewhat annoyed. He was alright with them using his home as a meeting place, but to store all their junk here was another thing altogether.

"But there's so much space here!" Nagisa said.

"Byakuya lives alone too."

"My house is a mess." The girl said simply. Haruka looked away, disgruntled at the fact.

"Are these all deserted islands?" Nagisa asked as he held up the map Kou had found. "We could camp on a deserted island!"

"That's a bad idea." Rei interrupted, taking the map from Nagisa's hands.

"Yeah. Don't you watch those thriller movies?" Byakuya added. "There's always a bunch of stupid kids in the middle of nowhere involved who get stalked by an ax-murderer or something."

"Aww, c'mon, you guys!" Nagisa said. "We could have a barbeque on a deserted island!"

"Barbeque!" Kou cheered.

"Not even my love for smoked meat is going to convince me to like this." Byakuya muttered.

"Can we just drop this deserted island business?" Rei said exasperatedly.

Makoto just smiled at the scene before he interrupted them. "Now, all we need is the money for transportation." He sighed.

They all fell silent as they contemplated what to do. Byakuya and Haruka were the only ones not doing any real thinking on the issue- though they were silently hoping that this trip would be foiled by the lack of transportation available.

"Do you think Ama-chan has a boat?" Nagisa suggested.

"I seriously doubt it." Rei replied.

"Ah!" Makoto exclaimed as an idea came to mind. "I know someone with one!"

Minutes later, a familiar white pizza delivery vehicle was parked outside Haru's house and an equally familiar delivery man was sitting at the dining table with the six teens again. Coach Sasabe was rubbing the back of his neck as he considered the request the kids were asking for again.

"Yes, I have the old squid-fishing boat left behind by my grandpa. And I have a boating license." He replied. "However...

"You buy me one pizza and expect me to do you a favour like this?!" He said in exasperation, gesturing to the sole pizza box sitting on the table.

"Please help us out!" Makoto said, clapping his hands together in a gesture of pleading.

"We'll also give you this!" Nagisa added, holding out a wooden carving of Iwatobi-chan.

"I don't want that!" Goro exclaimed, making Nagisa jump back in surprise. The coach sighed and thought about it a moment longer before he complied. "Oh fine. I can't participate in your camp, but I can send you there and back."

"Really?!" Nagisa said excitedly.

"Yeah." Goro reponded, somewhat pleased at the happy response he was receiving.

"Yay!" They all cheered, delighted at the news.

That is, almost all of them.

"Dammit." Byakuya muttered, rubbing her forehead in aggravation. Haruka silently agreed with her- that was pretty much the word to sum up what he was thinking at the moment.

"I could use a cruise." The coach said smugly.

"A cruise in a squid-fishing boat?" Rei deadpannned.

"Thank you very much!" Makoto said exuberantly, bowing towards the former coach.

"You can have this!" Kou added, handing Goro another Iwatobi-chan carving.

"I said I don't want that!" Sasabe exclaimed again.

* * *

><p>"Sorry for the trouble, Coach." Byakuya said, handing the him the money for the pizza they had ordered as the old coach got back into his vehicle.<p>

"Nah. I don't really mind it that much." The man shrugged, putting on his helmet after pocketing the money. "You kids used to be some of my best students; think of it as a repayment for your dedication."

"Yeah..." Byakuya said despondently. She definitely wasn't 'one of the best students' now. It was depressing.

"What's got you so down?" Goro asked.

"Huh?"

"You've been pretty gloomy throughout this whole thing." Goro explained, leaning against the steering wheel of his vehicle. "Something bothering ya?"

"...No. It's nothing major. Teenage worries." Byakuya replied, forcing a stiff smile.

"It's about Makoto, isn't it?"

"What?!"

"I used to hear a lot about your behaviour from your mom." The old coach chuckled. "Mikasa used to say how you always got this angry look in your eye whenever you got worried about someone. And from the way you kept looking at Makoto like you wanted to strangle him, it was pretty easy to guess."

Byakuya was slightly stunned at how the coach had read her so easily. Her mom... she had noticed something as small as the way she looked when she thought about something?

Byakuya felt her heart clench painfully at the thought. She herself barely knew anything about her mom...

"Take it from me, Byakuya. If there's something you wanna say, just say it. Holding back doesn't do anyone any good." Sasabe said, patting her shoulder before placing his hands back on the wheel. "Anyway, I got more deliveries to make, so I'll see you kids around, eh?"

"...Thanks, Coach." Byakuya said sincerely. The man nodded once in acknowledgement before he backed his vehicle up and drove away.

The Shion girl was left staring after the retreating vehicle, running the coach's words through her head again and again. Speaking her mind... that seemed to come to her a lot more easily these days than it used to be. There was only one problem with the situation now- she wasn't sure what she wanted to say.

* * *

><p>"Bye!" Nagisa called out as he and Rei got onto the train that would take them home.<p>

"See you tomorrow!" Kou said, waving at the other three teens. Makoto, Haru and Byakuya were all walking home, since they lived nearby, and were seeing their friends off at the train station.

"Yeah!" Makoto called back, waving back at his friends. They all lowered their raised hands as the trains left the station, and watched as their carriages went out of sight.

"...Let's go." Makoto said to his two friends.

"Yeah." Haru responded. Byakuya just nodded.

As the three of them headed back home, they took the regular road along the beach. Makoto attempted to make idle conversation as they did so.

"Looks like this camp is gonna work out." He said nonchalantly. "All we need now is permission from Miss Ama-chan."

"Yeah." Haruka responded monotonously.

"A training camp with everyone, huh? I'm looking forward to this." Makoto laughed, earning a look from Haruka. The olive-haired boy didn't notice it though, as he stared ahead while he talked.

"Oh, Rei's a beginner swimmer, so we're going to have to look out for him." Makoto continued. "Is he gonna be able to handle this? I'm not much of a long-distance swimmer myself... and how about you, Byaku-chan? Your stamina still isn't that great, right? Hopefully we'll be able to complete the whole training course without collapsing." He laughed again.

Makoto suddenly felt someone grab the back of his shirt, halting his steps. He turned around to see Byakuya grasping his shirt, her eyes glued to the ground. Haruka was standing a few paces behind- Makoto hadn't even noticed that the boy had stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" He asked, perplexed.

While Byakuya didn't look up when he called her name, her grip on his shirt tightened. Haruka was just standing where he was, his stoic expression somewhat stiffer than it normally was. He was quiet for a while before he answered.

"Are you really okay with this?" Haruka asked, his tone even more serious than usual.

"Huh?"

Haru stared at Makoto dead in the eye blue eyes meeting green.

"The ocean." He said, watching his friend's reaction.

Makoto's emerald eyes widened immediately as he was bombarded with an array thoughts and emotions at the sole word. A violent storm. Shock. A funeral procession. The ocean. Fear.

Makoto inhaled sharply and his face fell for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.

"I'll be fine. It was a long time ago." He said, smiling at his two friends. Byakuya's eyes narrowed as she released his shirt, shoving her hands back into her skirt pockets and stalking off, not waiting for her friends to catch up.

Haruka looked like he wanted to say more, but seemed to think better of it as he shut his eyes and relented. He continued walking on as well, dropping the topic. Makoto walked alongside Haru, his expression somewhat concerned. Haruka rarely ever voiced what he was thinking- for him to even ask Makoto such a small question was a surprise in itself. It spoke for itself just how concerned Haru was for his friend, and the thought made Makoto smile slightly. Haruka always did have a strange way of showing his concern for others, and he appreciated the notion.

Makoto turned his gaze to the ocean in the distance, and his heart dropped. Soon... he would have to face his fear, and the thought made his blood run cold. He couldn't even look at the ocean without remembering that day...

Byakuya glanced back worriedly at Makoto as he stared out at the ocean, an almost sad look on his face. Her hands clenched into fists inside her pockets, and she turned away quickly.

Her mom and Coach Sasabe had been right- she really did get pissed off when she was worried.

* * *

><p>After Makoto and Byakuya dropped Haru off at his place, they continued on their way back home in silence, neither really wanting to talk. It was only when they had stopped in front of Byakuya's house that Makoto finally broke the silence.<p>

"Byaku-chan."

"...Yeah?"

"About what you did back at the pool..." Makoto started slowly, smiling at the girl. "Thank you."

Byakuya averted her gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do." Mako insisted. He wasn't blind- he had noticed how she had tried to dissuade the others from the idea of the training camp, and he knew it wasn't for the reasons she made them out to be.

"...Haru-kun was the one who prompted me into doing so- he deserves the credit."

"Still... I really am grateful."

"You're an idiot." Byakuya said curtly; the boy's sincerity irking her for some reason. "There were other ways we could have trained our stamina. You could have said no."

"It'll be fine, Byaku-chan; don't worry. Besides, the team needs this-"

"You dont have to be so damn selfless all the time, you know?!" Byakuya snapped, cutting Makoto off. "It's okay for you to put your needs first... what if you get hurt?"

"W-What?" Makoto was absolutely stunned. Even though he'd seen Byakuya mad before, her anger had never once been directed at him like this.

"It's not right." Byakuya said, glaring at the olive-haired boy. "Your opinions and feelings matter just as much as anyone else's, yet you're always giving yourself up for others! Why can't we do the same for you? Why... why can't you just let yourself be selfish for once?"

Byakuya's voice became more strained towards the end of her sentence, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to meet Makoto's gaze after that outburst. She had just lost it- she was tired of Makoto sacrificing himself so much for the sake of others. To see him forcing himself to face his greatest fear without complaint, just for their benefit... she couldn't take it.

"You're not okay. You're not. So stop pretending that you are." She said, her voice quiet.

Makoto's gaze softened, and he felt a twinge of guilt at Byakuya's words. She was worried about him, just as Haru was as well, and he had only served to increase their worries with his decision. He didn't think that the both of them would have admitted their concerns to him- they hardly ever did so without any prompt.

"Byaku-chan..."

"I'm sorry." She apologized immediately, cutting him off. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that; you didn't deserve it. I'm just... I'm worried about you."

Makoto placed a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look back at him.

"Don't be." He said gently. "This is for the best. It's about time I stopped running from my own fears, too. You're doing it, Byaku-chan, so there's no reason why I can't as well."

"This is different." Byakuya implored, grasping onto the hand Makoto had laid on her shoulder. "You know it is. Please, Mako..."

"I have to face it sooner or later. What better time than now?"

"...You really are an idiot." Byakuya muttered, her grasp on his hand tightening. "A stupidly selfless idiot."

Makoto smiled softly at the girl. "Thank you, Byaku-chan. For telling me what was on your mind."

"This isn't about me..." She trailed off, frustrated. Leave it to Makoto to turn the tables and make the topic about her instead of him. Couldn't he just let himself be the comforted one instead of the comforter, for once?

Makoto gave her shoulder one last reassuring squeeze before removing his hand, intending to head back towards his own home.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"...Wait."

"Hm?" Makoto asked, turning back around to face the girl. Byakuya looked somewhat hesitant, and for a moment he thought she'd wave it off and tell him to forget it. Instead, she did something that left him stumped.

She reached up, pulled on his shirt collar to get him to bend over... and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Makoto couldn't move.

Byakuya's face was crimson as she released the boy. She backed up a few paces before clearing her throat nervously.

"Take care of yourself, Mako. And don't you ever try pulling something stupid like this again. I'll kill you."

And she turned on her heel and speed-walked into her house, nearly slamming the front door after she did so. Once inside, she slumped against the door, her heart pounding in her chest at her bold move.

Well, at least she could tell her brother that she had made one.

Makoto still remained frozen outside. He just stared at the closed door of Byakuya's home, not quite believing what had just happened. When his mind finally kicked in though, his face became as red as a fire hydrant.

He let out his breath in a whoosh- he hadn't even realized he had been holding it in- and ran a hand through his hair, a giddy smile spreading across his face.

He had enjoyed that way more than he should have.

* * *

><p>AN: Awkward fluff writer is awkward aghhh, but there were just too many opportunities 8'D Also, I have noticed that I may have made a slight mishap regarding Nitori's hair colour. I always thought it was more lavender than grey, but the wiki states that it is grey. I do apologize if it caused any confusion- I swear, anime characters and their crazy hair colours asdfghjkl<p>

Many, many thanks to Savage Kill for reviewing (I swear, you are da bomb. My inspiration for the filler chappy has skyrocketed 8'D), and usmccanthem for reviewing as well as following this story! Ya'll are great!


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

RRRIIINNNGGGGG!

Byakuya groaned loudly as her alarm clock went off, the ritualistic sound that told her to get her fat ass out of bed and do something with her life. She barely lifted her head from the pillow as she smacked the 'off' button, silencing the dreadful sound. With a lot of effort, she lifted herself into a sitting position and blinked blearily in the darkness of her room. She looked at the clock again.

6.00am. Beautiful.

Sighing, she forced herself out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom as she went about her usual morning routine of washing up. Once that was done, she put on a loose shirt and pants over her swimsuit before hefting her bags over her shoulder. She had already packed her stuff last night, so she was pretty much set to go for the training camp. The Shion girl then headed downstairs for a date with her best friend- coffee.

She downed a huge mug of the stuff and effectively woke herself up- she honestly didn't know what she'd do without caffeine- and munched a few of cereal bars to fill her stomach. By the time that was all settled, it was only 6.30. Normally Byakuya would knock out on the couch until she either woke herself up or Mako came and got her, but today there was a slight change of pace.

Byakuya double checked all the locks and windows of her house, making sure they were all secured before she headed to the front door. She just stood there for a moment, staring at her empty home.

"I'll be back soon!" She called out in a faux cheerful voice, though she didn't expect any response. She didn't know why she did it, but she did. Giving a small sigh, she went out and locked her front door. It was time, then.

She hummed to herself as she made her way to the Tachibana household, walking at a leisurely pace. She was supposed to meet up with Mako and Haru at 7.00, and they would head to the pier by 7.30 to meet up with the others. It was rare for her to be the one to wake up early for once, but she did it today. After all, she was rather worried about a particular olive-haired teen...

As she went on her way, she heard footsteps coming from her left. Turning her head, she saw Haruka falling into step beside her, his expression neutral; as always. He wore a white shirt and green pants, and was carrying a few bags of his own.

"'Morning, Haru-kun." Byakuya greeted.

"You're early." Haruka responded.

"So are you."

"Hm."

And they both kept on walking in silence. When they neared Makoto's house, they sat down on the stairs leading down to the compound, not really bothering to knock on the door. They would probably be in and out of there in a couple of minutes if they did, anyway.

"Did you say anything to Makoto?" Haruka asked suddenly, gaining Byakuya's attention.

"Ah, well..." Byakuya scratched her head sheepishly. "I wasn't quite as civil as you were, if that's what you mean..."

"I see." Haruka said, shutting his eyes briefly. He had figured Byakuya would have been less than subtle about her concerns- she could be rather direct when she wanted to be.

"How'd you know I spoke to him?"

"You looked like you wanted to kill him."

"Am I really that easy to read?" Byakuya groaned. Haru noticed it too?

"...Makoto was smiling a lot the other day." Haruka added idly.

"...What about it?" Byakuya said slowly.

Haruka remained silent, but he raised a brow at the girl- a silent question of 'You tell me'. Byakuya just flushed and looked away, confirming Haru's suspicions.

"Still..." she continued, her expression growing serious again. "I don't like this."

Haruka nodded slightly in agreement. This whole situation didn't sit too well with him either, though it was Makoto's choice.

"Haru-kun." Byakuya called suddenly. "Nagi-kun and I can handle Rei-kun, so... please look out for Mako on this trip, alright?"

Haru's eyes widened slightly in surprise; he certainly hadn't been expecting that. He regained his composure, however, and turned his eyes back to the front door of the Tachibana household. He didn't reply vocally, but Byakuya could tell that he had agreed to her request. She smiled at the thought- if there was someone she could count on to watch Mako's back, it was Haru.

"...Wouldn't it be nice?" Byakuya suddenly said, her voice wistful as she looked up at the sky. Haru didn't glance back at her, but she could tell he was listening. "If we could just be free?"

Haru didn't even blink at the statement, but Byakuya continued.

"To be without burdens or worries or cares. Just to fly away... it's a nice thought, no?"

"It's a fantasy." Haruka replied simply. "You can't run from reality."

"Yeah. I know. But still, wouldn't it be nice?" Byakuya sighed. "I wonder what it's like to be free."

Haruka had no response to that. Freedom was something he longed for, and yet it seemed like an unattainable goal. Life was harsh and difficult- to try and attain freedom by letting go of all your burdens would only tear you down; that was the cold truth. Was there even freedom to be attained in this world?

They both fell into silence after that, contemplating the topic as they waited for Makoto.

Eventually, the boy emerged from his house, carrying some luggage over his shoulder. He looked somewhat surprised to see the two of them waiting for him already- normally he was the early riser who came to get them both. He smiled though, and greeted them cheerfully.

"Morning, Haru. Byaku-chan."

Byakuya waved back at him as she stood up, a faint blush crossing her features. Ever since the kiss she'd given him that day, the butterflies in her stomach only got worse whenever she saw him.

She wanted to punch herself in the face.

Haruka didn't respond to Makoto's greeting, but he stood up as well. He glanced between Makoto and Byakuya- the latter's face somewhat flushed. The raven-haired boy raised a brow; something had obviously changed for his two friends, and he had a pretty good guess as to what it was.

He sighed internally. Of all the people to get hit by the teenage love syndrome, it would have to be those two. The world really liked playing its cruel jokes.

* * *

><p>"Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Bya-kun!" Nagisa called out as he saw his three friends approaching. He waved at them from his spot on the pier. "Over here!"<p>

"Good morning!" Kou greeted cheerily. The three underclassmen, along with Coach Sasabe had already gathered by the pier earlier than the other three had, and were standing next to the white fishing boat that Goro owned. For a hand-me-down squid-fishing boat, it was in pretty good condition.

"Good morning."

"Morning."

"Mm."

"Is everyone here?" Goro asked.

"We're still missing Miss Amakata." Rei answered.

No sooner than he had said that, the sound of a car approaching alerted them immediately, and they all turned around to see a familiar pink car driving up to the pier at a rather fast speed. Haru had to reach out and tug on Byakuya's shirt to make her back up a few steps to make way for the car to pass. The vehicle came to a screeching halt at a parking bay on the wide pier, and Miss Amakata stepped out.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! " She apologized sheepishly.

"She's wearing that to our training camp?" Byakuya deadpanned as she stared at the summer dress and wide-brimmed hat Miss Amakata was wearing. The young woman was also toting a couple of bags of her own, though hers were noticeably smaller than their luggage. The others all wore similar expressions of disbelief on their faces as they stared at the fashionable teacher.

Miss Amakata turned towards Coach Sasabe before she continued exuberantly. "You must be Sasabe-san! Thank you for your help!" She held out a small basket to the former coach. "Please take this! It's just a token, but.."

"O-oh, thank you." Goro stuttered out, accepting the gift. He was still somewhat surprised at the woman's unexpected entry, but as he regained his composure, his eyes narrowed slightly and he leaned forth a little, trying to get a closer look at Miss Amakata's face.

"Is something wrong?" The brunette asked curiously.

"Oh, uh.."Coach Sasabe said, eyes still narrowed as he tried to connect the dots in his mind. "Have we met before?"

"Eh?!" Miss Amakata exclaimed, paling significantly. "N-no! We haven't! This is the first time I've met you!"

"Is he trying to hit on her?" Kou said, her eye twitching slightly.

"No, I just think she's a terrible liar." Byakuya commented.

"Do you have something to say, Shion-chan?" Miss Amakata asked suddenly, a dangerous smile on her face.

"U-uhm, no! Nothing, Amakata-sensei!" Byakuya said quickly, sweatdropping. That woman had good ears.

* * *

><p>"All right! Let's set sail!" Coach Sasabe proclaimed, raising a large, colourful flag on a pole. "I'll fly our flag with a prayer for your camp's success!"<p>

As the coach went behind the wheel to begin driving the boat, Makoto walked over to the back to take a seat. His eyes fell on Byakuya- she was leaning over the side of the boat as one of her hands trailed idly in the water. He gave a small smile at the sight and walked over to her, taking the seat beside her. On Byakuya's other side sat Haru, who was simply staring out at the ocean again.

"Excited, Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked smilingly.

"I haven't been on a boat in years." She mumbled out. "I hope I don't get sick."

"You'll be fine." Makoto reassured. She glanced back at him with a small smirk, turning back around and sitting properly in her seat.

"Yeah, well let's hope so. I don't think you'd like it if my breakfast ended up all over you."

"Well, if it's just your breakfast, then I have nothing to worry about. It's going to be mostly coffee, anyway."

"Don't forget five cereal bars."

"Five? Really?"

"I'm a growing girl."

"But you're still short, Bya-kun!" Nagisa yelled from his place at the bow of the ship.

"I'm two centimeters taller than you, stupid!" She yelled back.

"That's why I said you're short!"

"Cheeky little fox." Byakuya mumbled. Makoto laughed and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair like he usually did. The boat started moving just then, much to everyone's delight.

"Off we go to the deserted island!" Nagisa cheered, striking a pose as he stood dangerously close to the edge at the bow of the ship. Rei started and attempted to pull him back before any accidents could happen.

"Full steam ahead!" Kou added enthusiastically.

"We're not going to a deserted island!" Rei said exasperatedly.

"Stop being so picky, Rei-chan!"

"I'm not being picky!"

"Remember to watch out for the ax-murderers!"

"Those are works of fiction, Byakuya-senpai."

"Stop being so picky, Rei-kun."

"I am not!"

And so the conversation went on as the bunch of them headed off, sailing through the ocean as the sun rose in the distance. It was quite a nice way to start the day.

* * *

><p>"Wow... this place is beautiful!" Kou exclaimed in awe as they docked at the pier of the island they would be camping on. It was indeed a wonderful sight- with pristine waters, white, sandy beaches, and lush forests further inland, it looked like something you'd see on one of those 'Wish You Were Here!' postcards.<p>

"I'm so glad I came!" Miss Amakata said cheerily.

"Absolutely!" Kou added.

Unfortunately, not all of then were quite so impressed with the view of the island at the moment.

"Byakuya-chan, you're not looking too good." Kou commented.

"Aspirin. Need aspirin." Byakuya groaned, clutching her head as she stumbled onto land. Rei was in a similar situation himself- he was crouching by the side of the pier, his face pale and looking like he really didn't want to be alive right now. He was in far worse shape than the Shion girl- Rei doubted he could even talk right now without losing his breakfast. The mere thought of it made him gag slightly as he held a handkerchief to his mouth.

"Are you okay, Rei?" Makoto asked worriedly as he placed a hand on the bluenette's shoulder.

"I-I'm fine." Rei choked out, standing up and walking quickly towards shore. "I just... need to use the bathroom."

Makoto just gave a small sigh before he turned to Byakuya, whose shoulders were slumped as she squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her temples.

"You alright, Byaku-chan?"

"Fine. Just headache. Five minutes." She answered shortly.

"You're not really gonna throw up, are you?" Nagisa asked as he and the others carried out some of the luggage from the boat.

"I will if you keep talking about it." The girl grumbled. She was just lucky she didn't get too seasick- she'd hate to have ended up like Rei.

"Take it easy, Byaku-chan." Makoto said kindly, patting her shoulder. "I'll help you carry out your stuff."

He only got what sounded like a vaguely opposing groan in response, but he ignored it and took her bags anyway- the girl was almost ridiculously stubborn when it came to proving her resilience, even when she was sick.

"Oh, and here's a gift from me." Coach Sasabe said, carrying out a large icebox and handing it to Haru. "You all better make good use of it."

"What is it?" Miss Amakata asked curiously.

"Don't worry, you'll love it." Goro said, winking at the bunch.

"Ehe..." Miss Amakata sweatdropped. Obviously, she was still rather discomforted from the coach's earlier comment. Goro just laughed.

"Anyway, good luck!" He continued, returning to his boat once everything was unloaded. "I'll be back for you all on your last day!"

"Thank you very much!" The others all called back, waving at the coach as he drove his boat away.

"Is Rei-chan okay?" Nagisa asked once the boat went out of sight, gazing back worriedly towards the shore.

"He should be fine; though he definitely doesn't have sea legs." Byakuya muttered, finally managing to shake off a bit of her headache. Makoto handed her a bottle of water, which she gratefully accepted with a small "thank you".

"You're not really one to talk, Byakuya-chan." Kou said teasingly. The dark-haired girl gave her an exasperated look in response.

"It seems there's a sports facility over here which has a 50m pool." Miss Amakata commented idly as she looked through a brochure. "We could swim there."

"We don't have the money to go there." Makoto corrected despondently as he hefted his bags over his shoulder. He reached out to take Byakuya's as well, but the girl intercepted him.

"I can carry my own things." She insisted stubbornly.

"If you say so, Byaku-chan." Makoto replied. What she didn't know was that he was still hanging on to one of her heavier bags, since she was still dizzy enough not to notice.

"I'll go look for a good camping site!" Miss Amakata announced as she headed towards shore.

"Okay!" Kou replied before she turned her attention to the icebox Coach Sasabe had passed to them.

"So what was his gift?" She mused as she eagerly reached out and began to open the chest, excited to see what he had left for them. What she saw definitely wasn't anything she had been hoping for, though...

"Pizza?" She said, sweatdropping. This was unbelievable. Kou then proceeded to take a look at the other icebox- the one Haru had brought with him- and peered inside. "And this is..."

"Mackerel." Haruka responded as the girl opened up the chest to reveal the fish inside, all resting on a mound of ice.

"You like mackerel way too much!" Kou exclaimed exasperatedly. Yep, the attractive men she was surrounded with definitely came with their quirks...

"Hey!" Rei's voice rang out suddenly, turning everyone's attention to the bluenette as he panted. He had clearly run all the way here from the bathroom, and it made them extremely curious as to what had spurred such an action. "Come over here!"

* * *

><p>"Inoue! Yamanaka! You're falling behind!" Seijuuro's voice yelled out, resonating through the large indoor pool. His voice could be heard even through the glass of the windows, which was where the Iwatobi bunch were observing the Samezuka team from. They all stared through the large glass windows, somewhat appalled.<p>

"Why is Samezuka's swim team here?" Makoto said confusedly.

"I knew they were holding a training camp, but to think they'd have it here..." Byakuya muttered.

"Oh, Rin-chan's here, too!" Nagisa exclaimed, pointing excitedly through the glass at the redheaded figure of Rin, who was standing with his captain and Nitori by the side of the pool.

"Did you do something again, Gou-chan?" Makoto asked.

"Eh? No! I didn't know anything about it this time!" Kou defended adamantly, waving her hands in a gesture of innocence.

"Really?" Nagisa asked skeptically. After the last time the girl had indirectly gotten Rin to meet up with them, it wouldn't have been surprising if she'd done it again.

"I mean, it's obvious my brother won't listen to anything I have to say..." Kou said despondently. Byakuya seemed to want to protest, but Kou continued quickly. "Plus..."

The redheaded girl glanced at Haruka, who was staring emotionlessly at the indoor pool. The memories of the conversation she had heard between him and her brother popped into her head again, and she recalled how Rin and Haru had sworn to race at prefecturals.

"Plus...?" Nagisa inquired.

"No, it's nothing." Kou responded.

"She was just about to say how Captain Mikoshiba is rocking that speedo." Byakuya said plainly.

"Don't put words in my mouth!"

"I don't see you denying it."

"So it's just a coincidence, then!" Nagisa interrupted enthusiastically as Kou's face turned as red as her hair. "We should go and say hello-"

"Don't." Haruka interrupted.

"Huh? Why not?" Nagisa asked.

"I promised him that we would meet at prefecturals." Haruka replied simply, though his sapphire gaze was intense as he stared at Rin.

"Huh? Really?"

'When did that happen?' Makoto wondered, though he gave a small smile at his best friend. It was good to see that he and Rin were starting to settle things, albeit slowly.

Byakuya bit her cheek as she remembered what she had overheard as well. A race that would decide it all...

Unconsciously, she pressed her fingers to the glass, over the place where Rin was standing. Just what was it that had changed? Why couldn't things just be the same as they were before?

'What does the sunset look like to you, Rin-kun?'

* * *

><p>"I wanna swim in a 50m pool..." Nagisa said wistfully as he and the other guys began to put up their tents by the beach. Miss Amakata had, true to her word, found them a very nice camping spot on the shores. The girls- minus Byakuya- were standing by the sidelines as the others did the work of putting up the tents.<p>

"I guess powerhouse schools really do get special treatment." Miss Amakata mused.

"They're clearly in a different class." Rei said admiringly.

"Or maybe their school actually sponsors their swim team." Byakuya murmured.

"Are you still bitter about that?!" Kou exclaimed.

"Like that George guy said, chequebooks are important and all that."

"You don't even remember the quote properly..."

"You know what I mean."

"Doesn't matter." Haru interjected, returning to the topic at hand.

"Haru's right." Makoto agreed. "Our goal for this training camp is to build stamina."

"That's right! We still have our deserted islands!" Nagisa enthused.

"Are you comparing 50m pools to deserted islands?!" Rei exclaimed.

"Aren't they similar?"

"How are they similar?!"

"If we find any buried treasure, I call dibs on everything."

"That's no fair, Bya-kun!"

"It is to me."

"Can we get back on topic?!"

"Okay then." Miss Amakata interrupted suddenly, lifting her bags off the ground and turning to Kou. "Let's go check in at the lodge."

"Yeah!" Kou said cheerily.

"Lodge?" The others all exclaimed, perplexed.

"What do you mean?" Rei said as they all approached the two ladies.

"We booked lodging for ourselves." Miss Amakata answered cheerfully, gesturing to the long row of lodges further inland, which was just visible from their positions. "There!"

"What?!" The others exclaimed. The girls were going to get to sleep in a nice, comfy lodge while they had to camp out on the beach?

"You can't expect a couple of girls to sleep outside." Miss Amakata said simply. "Right, Gou-chan?"

"Right!" The redhead agreed enthusiastically.

"Class difference again..." Rei grumbled, his eye twitching.

"We're the bottom 1%?" Nagisa despaired.

"Wait, you said 'girls shouldn't sleep outside'... what does that make me, then?!" Byakuya demanded, crossing her arms in annoyance. She hadn't been informed of this at all, despite their claims.

"You hardly count as a girl, Byakuya-chan." Kou replied.

"Well screw you too."

"Now, now. That's enough." Miss Amakata said, hooking her arm through Kou's. "If you all wanted to sleep in a lodge, then you should have been wiser with your expenses. Let's go, Gou-chan!"

"Bye-bye, you guys! Enjoy your time in the great outdoors!" Kou said sweetly as she and Miss Amakata turned away and left the others staring after them, stumped.

"...I say we find out which room they're staying in and put insects in their beds. Anyone with me?" Byakuya suggested.

Makoto just sighed and gave her a light smack on the back of her head.

* * *

><p>AN: I have a feeling this fic will easily hit 50+ chapters as it is completed. Like seriously, I've only just finished writing episode 7, and it's already at chapter 32. This is insane. If novelizing a 12 episode series takes this long, I can only imagine how long a novelization for a series like Naruto will take... *shudder*.<p>

And of course, many, many thanks to Savage Kill and USMCcAnthem for reviewing once more (you guys are amazing yo QwQ), B-rabbit28 for favouriting, as well as FireMageTactician, bloodrose15 and the-Flying-Panda for following and favouriting this story! Thanks for your support, and I hope I don't disappoint!

See you guys next chapter!


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"If you look at the map, you'll see that there are a number of smaller islands in the area." Makoto briefed the others as they all stood by the beach, all dressed in their swimsuits. They were going to begin the first part of their swimming regimen.

"Deserted islands!" Nagisa cheered.

"What is it with you and deserted islands?!" Rei exclaimed.

"I introduced him to this video game once. The graphics got him hooked." Byakuya scratched her head sheepishly.

"But video games and real life are two entirely different things." Rei sighed.

"Not necessarily!" Nagisa defended.

Makoto laughed at the conversation they were having- really, they talked about the most peculiar topics.

"We'll be swimming between Sukishima, Oshima and Mizushima for our training." He continued, holding up a map to clarify his point. "The distance between each island is about 1km. We're looking at 4km of swimming and 1km of running each circuit. Our goal is to complete three circuits on our first day."

Byakuya cringed slightly upon hearing the distances they were going to swim. This was gonna push her limits, alright.

"That sounds hard. Can you handle that, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked worriedly. Even to him, who had been swimming close to 10 years, he found the regimen to be rather tough. For a beginner like Rei, it must've sounded horrible.

Maybe the name 'Summer Training Camp from Hell' wasn't too far off the mark.

"Rei's a beginner," Makoto explained. "So we have a different training regimen for him-"

"No. I'll do what everyone else is doing. I've studied up on the concepts of long-distance swimming." Rei interrupted. He automatically reached up to push his glasses up, but flushed in embarassment when he remembered he had taken them off earlier for the swim.

Byakuya smiled sympathetically at Rei- she knew all too well what he was trying to do. He was worried about holding them back- that he would be a hindrance to the team's progress, and was determined to overcome his own limitations. Nagisa had been right, Rei was definitely dedicated once he put his mind to it. She could learn to take a leaf or two out of his book.

"You may know the concepts perfectly, but the ocean is a dangerous place." Makoto said. "If you want to do the same regimen, you should use a kickboard or inflatables."

Here, Haruka stepped up to Rei, holding an armful of the said items. "Take your pick." He said calmly.

Rei blanched at the mental images of him using one of those things. "It's not beautiful!" Rei retorted vehemently.

"Just go with a kickboard." Makoto suggested, sweatdropping at the boy's reaction. Rei's focus on aesthetics did wonders to change his serious demeanour. "With that..."

"Let's start training!" Nagisa said enthusiastically, immediately pulling on his swim cap and goggles as he ran into the ocean without hesitation.

"Ah, hold on!" Rei called out, running after the blonde as well. "We're supposed to start at the same time, Nagisa-kun!"

"Hurry up!"

"Wait for me!"

"Children." Byakuya smiled. Those two really were quite the pair. Both she and Haru made a move to follow after the two, but something else caught their attention, stopping their movements.

Makoto hadn't moved from his spot, and he just stood there, gazing out at the ocean with a solemn and almost sad look on his face. The wind blew by at that moment, billowing his hair around his face- it only added to the melancholy atmosphere. Haru stared at his best friend, a hint of concern in his blue eyes, but made no move to approach him.

Byakuya hesitated for a moment before she stepped forth and placed a hand on Makoto's shoulder, a worried expression on her face. He started slightly at the contact, but turned around to give both her and Haru a reassuring smile. It was so obviously forced, and it nearly broke Byakuya's heart.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." He said, his voice forcefully cheerful as he patted her hand. He turned towards the ocean and started walking before either Haru or Byakuya could respond. "Let's get going."

"...Yeah." Haru replied, his voice unwaveringly stoic. His eyes betrayed his true emotions though; he was obviously worried for his friend, that much was clear. He glanced at Byakuya and they shared another knowing look- both recalling the agreement they had made earlier that morning. Neither of them said anything as they put on their swimming accessories and joined the other three in the ocean as well.

'Mom...' Byakuya prayed silently. 'If you're listening... please watch out for Mako.'

* * *

><p>"Hey, Bya-kun~" Nagisa sang once they reached the first island of their circuit. The Shion girl had already yanked off her goggles and swim cap as she shook out her hair, still standing in the shallow waters.<p>

"Yeah?" Byakuya responded, turning around to face the boy standing behind her. "What's u-"

But right before she could finish that sentence, Nagisa had yanked Byakuya's foot from under her and she fell back into the ocean, completely submerged before she got back onto her feet.

"Nagi-kun!" She sputtered, wiping away the water and wet hair from her face as she glared viciously at the blonde boy, who was laughing his head off.

"Y-you look like a drowned puppy!" He stuttered out in between his laughs. Byakuya's glare just intensified as she took a menacing step towards Nagisa.

"Oh I'll show you drowned..." She growled as she got Nagisa into a headlock.

"Rei-chan, help!" Nagisa called out as he saw the bluenette standing closest to them. "Bya-kun's trying to castrate me!"

"What?!" Rei exclaimed. How on earth had Nagisa come to that sort of conclusion?!

"I thought you said you didn't know what that meant!" Byakuya accused, stopping her vicious assault on the boy for a moment.

"I don't." Nagisa confessed.

"You little-"

"Sh-should we stop them?" Rei asked hesitantly as Byakuya proceeded to strangle Nagisa.

"It's their problem. They can settle it themselves." Haruka said nonchalantly as he began his run.

"They'll stop eventually." Makoto laughed sheepishly.

"That's not very encouraging..." Rei sighed, but followed after Haruka. Those two could sort it out on their own. Hopefully.

...

By the time Nagisa and Byakuya had caught up with them again, the boy had a bump on his head while Byakuya just smiled the whole time. Naturally.

* * *

><p>"I didn't realize long distance swimming was so taxing." Rei panted as Nagisa helped him up. They had managed to reach the second island, and Rei was utterly exhausted.<p>

"You did well for a first-timer." Makoto praised, smilimg reassuringly. "Good work."

That did little to reassure Rei, though. He couldn't help but feel like he was somewhat of a hindrance to the team's progress due to his lack of experience.

"It feels like we're really training!" Nagisa exclaimed, flexing his arms. "We'll be a lot stronger once this camp is over! If we win at prefecturals, and do well in regionals, then we can head on to nationals!"

"It would be nice if we could." Byakuya mused.

"Yep." Makoto agreed, his eyes softening slightly as he entertained the thought. "It all sounds like a dream, but I want to see how far we can go."

That made Haruka turn around and shoot a glance at his friend. Something in Makoto's voice sounded different when he said that- there was something stronger to it; a deeper feeling behind those words than he let on.

"If we place, then we'll get a bigger budget! Then we'll get to swim indoors during the winter!"

"I hope so." Haruka commented.

"You'll get to swim all the time!" Nagisa added cheerily.

Byakuya smiled at her friends as they conversed- they sounded like they were really getting involved in this thing... that was good. She liked it when her friends were happy- it was something that gave her the encouragement to move forth with them as well instead of dwelling upon the past. If there was one thing she wished for, though, it was to see them all swimming in a relay again...

For a moment, she glanced back at Rei, who was standing a little ways away from their small bunch. The boy was gazing despondently at the ground, and Byakuya immediately felt guilty- she had briefly forgot that he was even there.

"Oi, Rei-kun!" She called out, gaining his attention. "Wanna help me out and see if we can find any buried loot?"

"Huh?!" Rei exclaimed, not expecting that at all. The others looked slightly surprised at the sudden change of topic as well.

"You heard me. We could look around for an 'X' mark on the ground or something-"

"That's hardly realistic." Rei deadpanned. Byakuya smirked a bit at that- at least he had stopped brooding for now.

"Doesn't mean it isn't possible. Haven't you read Treasure Island?"

"That's a storybook."

"But Rei-chan!" Nagisa added. "What if there really is such a thing? I mean, deserted islands are super mysterious-"

"Can we stop with the deserted islands?!"

"It'll be an adventure! C'mon..."

"Yeah, c'mon, Rei-kun..."

"Absolutely not!"

"Oh fine." Byakuya grunted.

"You're no fun, Rei-chan!" Nagisa added, pouting.

"I'm being rational!" Rei defended.

Makoto smiled when he realized what Byakuya and Nagisa were doing. They had clearly noticed Rei's dampened mood, and were doing their best to take his mind off his worries. It was a strange way of doing it, but it was effective- Rei looked more like his normal self now. Quite a subtle move, he had to admit, and the way those two had gone about executing it was near perfect despite it being completely impulsive and unplanned.

Heaven help them if those two actually decided to start plotting schemes together. No one would stand a chance.

* * *

><p>"Good work!" Kou praised as the five swimmers returned to the main island, all rather tired from their workout. The manager of the swim team handed them each a towel from the bunch that she had been holding.<p>

"Thanks." Makoto said gratefully as he accepted one of the towels.

"Was the training regimen from hell too hard after all?" Kou inquired. "You guys only completed half of it."

Plus, Byakuya was just lying there on the beach, breathing heavily as she lay there with her eyes shut. Kou just sighed and dumped the towel on her face, ignoring the unintelligible groaning that the older girl emitted upon her doing so.

"Well, it's only the first day." Makoto said, sweatdropping when he saw what Byakuya was doing. He was surprised she'd even made it back to shore without needing any help, really. Those morning jogs she had been doing must've been working out.

"I-I'll do better tomorrow!" Rei said suddenly, walking up to the other members of the swim team. He was determined to better himself; to make sure he got to their level. He would not be the weakest link.

"You'll do fine, Rei-chan!" Nagisa encouraged. The blonde had noticed that Rei seemed rather insecure about his swimming abilities, and was insistent on making him feel better.

"I'll catch up soon enough!" Rei insisted.

"That's the spirit!" Makoto enthused.

"Fly high, Butterfly." Byakuya cheered half-heartedly.

"How long are you gonna lie there, Bya-kun?" Nagisa asked curiously.

"All day."

"Hey!" Miss Amakata called out. The teacher was standing by two picninc tables conveniently placed by the beach, and had placed two large baskets onto those tables. "That's enough performance reviews for now. Let's eat before it gets dark!"

"On second thought, lying down can wait." Byakuya said, shooting up to her feet almost instantaneously. Obviously, it didn't take much effort to make her change her mind about lazing around.

"You're contradicting yourself." Haruka commented blandly. Makoto just laughed as they all walked towards Miss Amakata.

"I'm starving!" Nagisa announced, eagerly looking at the baskets of food the teacher had laid out on the table. The teacher dug around in a basket for a while before a disappointed look crossed her face.

"Oh no, I forgot to bring seasoning." Miho said disappointedly.

"What?!" Nagisa said.

"I'll go borrow some from the lodge!" Kou volunteered immediately, eager to help out.

"Thank you!" Miss Amakata said gratefully.

"Want me to accompany you?" Byakuya asked.

"You're dripping wet, Byakuya-chan." Kou pointed out.

"Dammit. I was hoping I could sneak your keys when you weren't looking." Byakuya grumbled.

"Then why would you mention it out loud?" Rei asked exasperatedly.

"I never said I was good at stealing stuff."

"Whatever." Kou sighed, heading towards the lodge. "You all go get changed while I go get the seasoning."

"Be back soon, hungry people here!" Byakuya called out.

"Just go to the washroom already!"

* * *

><p>Kou jogged past the a row of shophouses on the way to the lodge at a rather quick pace, eager to get the seasoning as fast as she could. Just as she ran past a gorcery store, however, the front door open and she nearly collided into another boy.<p>

"Oh, I'm sorry-" Kou cut herself off when she suddenly realized who she had nearly run into. It was that boy from Samezuka- Nitori. The lavender-haired boy looked rather surprised himself, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw the girl.

"You're Matsuoka-senpai's-" But before Nitori could finish his sentence, a very familiar maroon-haired boy strode up behind him.

"What's wrong?" Rin asked, right before he noticed his sister standing there, staring at him in shock.

"Onii-chan!" Kou exclaimed.

"Gou?" Rin said in surprise, though he released a "tch" in irritation once he regained his composure. If his sister was here... then that meant those guys were here too.

"Nitori, you head back first." He barked out, directing the statement at his roommate. Nitori started at the sudden order, but complied.

"Oh? O-okay, I'll see you later, Matsuoka-senpai." Nitori said before heading back, leaving the two siblings with each other. He wondered what they were going to discuss, but decided to respect their privacy.

"Well?" Rin asked, turning his gaze back to his sister once Nitori was out of sight.

Kou sighed. It looked like the others were going to have to wait for their seasoning.

* * *

><p>"It's not what you're thinking." Kou explained as she and her brother sat on a bench not too far from the shoplots where they had encountered each other.<p>

"It's not?" Rin said skeptically. He wasn't naive- he knew that when she had texted him about the old swim club back then, she had done it on purpose to get him to encounter the others. Now that she was their manager, it would have been easier for her to do so again.

"Haru and the rest of them are here, right?" Rin continued.

"They are, but it's purely coincidence!" Kou replied. She was getting somewhat exasperated that they didn't believe her when she defended her innocence in this matter. "We happen to be here for a training camp."

"Training camp?" Rin said confusedly. "We're using the pool. Where are they swimming?"

Here, Kou glanced away briefly, a somewhat melancholy look in her eyes as she responded quietly. "The ocean."

Now it was Rin's turn to be startled. "Makoto's okay with that?" He asked, surprise and concern lacing his voice.

"Huh?" Kou said, perplexed. How did this connect back to Makoto? She had been thinking about someone else entirely...

And it definitely wasn't her imagination- she had heard her brother's change of tone when he spoke of his old friend. For a moment, he had sounded like his old self.

Rin seemed to realize his slip as well and quickly looked away, the stoic look back on his face.

"Forget it. Never mind. Are they completing their regimen?" He asked curtly.

"Uh-huh. Well, they only completed half of it today." Kou replied, before she giggled slightly.

"What?" Rin said, somewhat apprehensive. What was so funny?

"Nothing. It just sounds like you're still worried about them." She said, a happy expression on her face.

"I'm not." Rin denied, his brow twitching slightly.

"But you promised to meet them at prefecturals?" Kou inquired, remembering what Haru had said.

"I didn't do it to see them." Rin replied stiffly, standing up from his seat as his eyes hardened. "I'm going to beat Haru. That's all I care about."

Rin then proceeded to walk away, leaving his sister sitting on the bench by herself. He had intended to just walk back to where he and the rest of his team were staying at, but as he glanced back for a moment, he caught a glimpse of his sister's downcast face. Her expression looked like that of a kicked puppy, and Rin immediately felt a pang of guilt. Byakuya's words to him at the joint practice that day came back to him...

'That's your sister, Rin-kun. I don't know what's up with you, but she's your family. Treat her like it.'

"Gou." Rin called out. "Where are you staying?"

Kou seemed surprised that he was asking, but replied nonetheless. "Oh, that lodge over there."

"...I'll walk you back." Rin said, casting a look back at Kou over his shoulder before he continued walking again.

The girl's expression lifted immediately, and she let out a small cry of joy as she stood up and ran after her brother, falling into step next to him.

"What's that smile for?" Rin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Kou replied cheekily, though the smile never left her face. Rin just ignored it and continued looking straight ahead as he walked.

If he was completely honest with himself, though... he was glad that his sister was smiling. He was her big brother, after all, and to take care of her was his duty.

After all, family was all you had.

* * *

><p>"I thought I told you to call only in case of an emergency?" Byakuya said, her voice almost annoyed as she spoke into her phone. She had just finished her bath, and was using her free hand to dry her hair with a towel while she conversed over the phone.<p>

"This is an emergency!" Aoi replied, his voice unusually excited. "I only just saw your message! Did you really kiss Orca?"

"I didn't bring a charger with me, you know." Byakuya grumbled, her face reddening at the mention of her bold move yesterday.

"You're avoiding the topic! Did you really kiss him?!"

"...It was only on the cheek."

"Woohoo! My sister's got some balls!"

"I didn't need you to further degrade my femininity."

"Still! Nice job, Turtle!"

"You're reacting a lot more to this than I thought you would."

"I'm your older brother! I'm supposed to be excited about your love life and give you advice on wooing men!"

"Aren't you supposed to be beating men away from me with a stick?"

"You do enough of that on your own."

"Goodbye, Ao-nii."

"Oh come on!"

Byakuya laughed, tossing her towel over her shoulder as she walked back towards the beach, dressed in a sleeveless shirt and surfing shorts.

"But seriously though, my battery's gonna die if I keep up this conversation too long. Anything big you wanna tell me?"

"Well, ... how's Orca handling the training thing?"

"That was a strange change of topic." Byakuya joked lightly, though her grip on the phone tightened. She sat down on the beach near their campsite, gazing out at the setting sun.

"Yeah, but still, how is he?" Aoi said, sounding somewhat serious himself.

"...He's okay, I guess. A bit hesitant, but he did pretty well today." Byakuya replied. Makoto hadn't shown any signs of fear once the training had started, but she wondered if that had been entirely truthful on Mako's part.

"The boy's tough. I'll give him that much."

"Yeah, he is. But he's an idiot."

"You two are perfect together, then."

"Shaddup."

Aoi laughed. "Well, I always did like the kid. He was like a second brother to you, y'know? Sometimes I consider passing my job over to him."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're an awesome big brother."

"Aww, thanks baby."

"I'm not a baby. You're just old."

"Haha, if you say so... anyways, I'll stop burning your battery now. Call me when you get back?"

"Yeah, sure. See ya, Ao-nii."

The girl hung up, releasing a long exhale as she placed her phone in her pocket. A small smile played on her lips as she gazed out at the ocean- she always did feel happier after a talk with her brother, no matter how peculiar he was.

"Aoi called?"

Byakuya chuckled quietly as she recognized the familiar voice. "Yep. He says hi, by the way."

"He still calls me Orca, doesn't he?" Makoto said as he walked over to where Byakuya was sitting, settling down next to her as well. His own hair was slightly damp from the shower, and he was temporarily wearing his glasses as well.

Byakuya thought he looked cute when he wore those glasses- not that she'd ever say that out loud.

"Of course he does. Ao-nii never drops a nickname once he creates one." Byakuya said smilingly.

"Yeah, well it's nice to see some things never change." Makoto said with a smile on his face. The two fell quiet for a while, before Byakuya broke the silence.

"...What do you think freedom is, Mako?" Byakuya asked suddenly.

"Hm?"

"Freedom. What do you think it means?"

Makoto was somewhat surprised at the change of topic, but pondered the question for a while before he answered.

"Well... I think freedom is being able to overcome your fears. To be brave enough to face life and stand by the people you care for." He replied.

"Really..." Byakuya said thoughtfully. It wasn't a bad answer, and it was just so...Makoto. His views reflected quite a bit on what he was doing now, really... it looked like freedom wasn't something she herself was striving for, either.

"Is that why you're doing this, then?" She continued. "To become free?"

"Why all the sudden questions, Byaku-chan?" Makoto inquired, not answering Byakuya's inquiry.

"You're avoiding the topic." Byakuya sighed, before relenting. "Just something I had on my mind."

"Well, what's your idea of freedom?"

"I don't really know. That's sorta why I'm asking around."

"Well, everyone has their own idea on what it means to be free. Maybe you should try to find your own answer."

"I'm trying, but I don't really trust my own judgment, really."

"You should. You're a lot smarter than you think you are."

"Not really. For all I know I might get this twisted concept of freedom and end up being a leader of a cult or something."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. We'll be there to help you every step of the way."

"'We'?"

"Me, Haru, Nagisa, and everyone else. Do you really think we wouldn't help you out when you need it?" Makoto asked, raising an eyebrow.

Byakuya fell silent. She hadn't actually thought about that, and it made her feel a little bad. Her friends were there for her, and there was no way they'd ever let her fall. She couldn't let herself forget that.

"Of course not." She said, shutting her eyes briefly as she smiled. "Thanks, Mako. For reminding me."

"Don't mention it." Makoto replied, turning his gaze towards the setting sun as well.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you- Ao-nii agrees that you're an idiot." Byakuya continued lightly.

"What?"

"Yep. He totally agrees. Shame on you, Orca."

"Do you really have to call me that, too?"

"Yes."

Makoto sighed as he ruffled the girl's hair, which in return garnered the usual swat from Byakuya. It was just the way they went about doing their own thing, two friends comfortable with the pattern they had set for themselves. It would have been a nice way to end the day, had it continued that way.

However, fate had other plans in store, for a series of rather unfortunate events were about to take place. That night, the coldness of reality would be forced upon the teens of the Iwatobi Swim Club- and with it, their familiar worlds would be thrown into disarray.

* * *

><p>AN: Anddd we all know what's coming next. Three letters. C. P. R. I'll leave ya'll to speculate what happens next chappy. ;)<p>

And here I now proceed to shower these guys with cyber sparkles: Thank you to Savage Kill, AmIValid and Shizuka Kitsune for reviewing, USMCcAnthem for doing the above as well as favouriting, Kyoichi Amaya for reviewing as well as faving and following this fic, HeavenlyCondemned for doing the above as well as adding my profile to your favourites and alerts, and synismysin for following this story! Ya'll rock ;D


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Mackerel and hokke!" Nagisa announced, brandishing the dish he had made.

"Mackerel and pineapple!" Haruka said while brandishing his own pizza. His face was still blank and he was noticeably less enthusiastic than the blonde, but he was rather enthusiastic nonetheless.

"What?" Kou deadpanned as she stared at the pizzas the two were holding, not quite believing the peculiar combinations they had made.

"Pineapple's the one topping I'll never put on pizza." Miss Amakata shuddered.

"Haven't you heard of Hawaiian?!" Byakuya said, appalled that anyone could dislike the- in her opinion, at least- heavenly combo.

"I hate green peas in shumai!" Kou added

"Eh, I'm not so sure about that one." Miho laughed sheepishly.

"Why would you say that?" Kou exclaimed.

"Women are so fussy."

"You're a girl too, Byakuya-chan."

"You left me to sleep on the beach, you hypocrites."

As they all conversed idly on the topic of food combinations they disliked, Rei stood at the other side of the table, a downcast expression on his face as he thought over the events of that day.

"What's wrong?" Nagisa asked as he strode up to the boy, tilting his head curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing." Rei reassured, though it was none too convincing.

"Really?" Nagisa said. He wasn't convinced by the boy's answer, but made no move to pursue the question as he walked back to the main group. If Rei didn't feel like talking about it, Nagisa would respect his privacy.

Rei's face became solemn again as Nagisa left, and he stared listlessly at the bunch as they ate their pizzas and chatted.

"Rei." Makoto's voice called Rei's attention to him, and the bluenette fixed his attention on the senior standing next to him- he hadn't even noticed that Makoto was standing there. The Tachibana boy's face was kind as he spoke to Rei.

"You don't need to worry about not finishing the regimen." He said kindly. "Just take it easy."

Here, Makoto looked back at the group at the table, who were still bickering lightly as they ate. Haruka was passive as ever, but added his own comments occasionally. Byakuya sat next to him, making the occasional remark through a mouthful of food. Kou and Nagisa were laughing at something that had been said, while Miss Amakata tittered lightly as she took a bite of her pizza- one with no pineapple, as expected.

"I'm just glad we get to practice and camp here together." Makoto continued, his eyes softening as he gazed at his friends. "It's important to improve our times, but what makes me happiest is that we all get to swim together."

Rei looked somewhat startled at Makoto's words, but slowly smiled. He, too, glanced back at their small group- he was glad to have these people as his friends; they were always so welcoming and friendly. Rei had never really had any solid friends before, and to have some now was comforting. Makoto was right- being together was what made him happy.

"Yes." Rei replied, shutting his eyes briefly as he shot the senior a small smile.

The issue of his inability to swim as well as the others could still nagged at him, but all that was forgotten for a moment as he and Makoto rejoined their friends. For now, he would enjoy this moment of happiness.

* * *

><p>After they all finished their meal, the five swimmers of the swim club returned to their camping spot, accompanied by their manager and advisor.<p>

"Then, Haru, Byaku-chan and I will be in this tent." Makoto announced, gesturing to the slightly larger tent of the two.

"Ehh?" Nagisa whined. "But I wanna sleep with Haru-chan."

"You don't want to share a tent with me?" Rei asked, his brow twitching. Was Nagisa trying to tell him something?

"You probably grind your teeth in your sleep." Nagisa replied evenly.

"I don't do that!" Rei defended.

"Byakuya snores." Haruka added.

"Haru-kun!" Byakuya exclaimed.

"It's true."

"We can use amida to decide." Makoto cut in, deciding to settle the situation before it broke out into a fight.

"I'm in!" Nagisa enthused.

"We can draw in the sand." Haruka suggested.

"Okay." Makoto agreed.

"I'm on the far right!" Nagisa announced.

"Ah, that's the one I wanted!" Rei retorted.

"Screw off, that spot's mine." Byakuya interrupted.

"But Bya-kun-"

"Ladies first."

"You're hardly a lady!"

"I can beat you up, y'know."

"Now, now." Makoto interjected again, sweatdropping at all the bickering that was going on. "Haru, which one do you want?"

"The one on the end."

"Amida~" Nagisa sang cheerily.

As they all decided on the positions to take for the game, Miss Amakata and Kou stood by the sidelines, watching the five teens.

"Let's go back to the lodge." Miho suggested, turning to Kou.

"Oh... yes." Kou said, starting slightly at the question. She had been staring rather intently at the group of them, and reluctantly headed back to the lodge with her teacher. As they were walking away, Kou turned back one last time to look at the teens, who were laughing happily together.

'...Why isn't onii-chan with them?'

* * *

><p>Byakuya shot up in her bed with a gasp when a loud booming sound echoed through the night, startling her out of her slumber. She heaved a sigh of relief when she realized it was just thunder, though she started slightly when she realized what that meant.<p>

"...A storm?" She muttered, turning her gaze to the entrance of the tent. Thankfully, the tent was rather secure, and while the walls were blowing about rather strongly, the tent itself wasn't in any danger of being blown away. She let herself relax slightly, and turned to see the still forms of Haru and Nagisa, who were still fast asleep. Nagisa was hugging onto a pillow he had brought with him, sprawled out in a peculiar position as he slept with his mouth agape, drooling a bit. Haruka was unmoving as he slept, his mouth only slightly open as he breathed steadily.

Byakuya smiled at the sight- even by the way they slept, you could tell what their personalities were like. She lay down again as she prepared to go back to sleep, shutting her eyes as she did so.

However, the yell she heard made her eyes snap open again, her muscles tensing automatically. The sound had been rather vague- it had probably been carried away by the wind- but there was no mistaking that it had occured. And the voice sounded a lot like...

"Makoto?" Byakuya said confusedly. What was he doing out so late at night, in a storm like this, too? And it might have been her imagination, but she could have sworn he had said "Rei."

Byakuya felt immediately uncomfortable and turned to Haru to wake him up. She started upon seeing that the boy was already slowly sitting up- he always was a light sleeper. Nagisa was awakened by the movement as well, and sat up as he blearily rubbed his eyes.

"Haru-chan? Bya-kun?" He asked, not quite comprehending why the two were awake.

"Did you hear that?" Haru asked, an alert look in his eyes.

"Hear what?" Nagisa asked.

"That voice." Haruka said insistently.

Byakuya simply nodded once in affirmative, and barely hesitated as she stood up to exit the tent. Haru followed suit.

"Huh?" Nagisa exclaimed, shaking himself out of his stupor. His two friends looked absolutely serious, and that was enough to wake him up as he followed after them.

Nagisa had a bad feeling in the pits of his stomach- like something bad was going to happen.

* * *

><p>Byakuya "tch"ed as she got out of the tent and the strong winds blew by, throwing her hair all over the place. She impatiently pushed the strands out of the way, not bothering to go get her usual hair tie- she had no time for that. Haru was right behind her, also using a hand to shield himself from the strong gusts of air. The two of them immediately headed to the neighbouring tent; the one Makoto and Rei were supposed to be sharing. If what they heard was right, then that would mean...<p>

"Makoto." Haru called out, his voice urgent as he opened the entrance to the tent. Neither Mako nor Rei were inside.

"Shit." Byakuya cursed, feeling her heartbeat quicken. This couldn't be good.

"What's wrong?" Nagisa asked as he caught up to his friends, also peering inside the tent. He started when he saw that it was empty. "Eh? They're gone."

"It's still warm." Haru pointed out as he lay a hand on one of the empty sleeping bags, feeling its temperature.

"Did they go to the restroom?" Nagisa asked, yawning.

Byakuya had by this time ignored the empty tent and was looking around frantically for her two friends. They had heard Makoto's voice, so there was no way that-

A flash of orange caught her eye, and what she saw made her heart stop. It was Makoto's shirt, lying on the beach.

When a flash of lightning tore across the sky, what she saw next made her eyes widen in shock and fear.

"Haru-kun! Nagi-kun!" She cried out, pointing out at the roiling sea. "There! In the ocean!"

"What is it?" Nagisa asked, immediately alert as he heard the urgency in Byakuya's voice. The girl started running towards the ocean immediately, ignoring all sense of caution.

At the next flash of lightning, Haru, too, noticed what Byakuya had seen, his own eyes widening.

"H-hel-" Rei's voice was cut off as another wave swept over him, drowning out his cries for help. The bluenette's head was barely visible fron their place on the shore, and swimming towards him was another olive-haired figure- Makoto.

"Is that-" Nagisa wasn't able to finish his sentence as Haru ran off as well, removing his shirt quickly as he focused only on jumping into the ocean.

"Haru-chan?! Bya-kun?!" Nagisa exclaimed. From his friends' reactions, it was most likely that his observation had been correct.

"Contact Miss Amakata!" Haru yelled back as he ran into the ocean.

Byakuya didn't hesitate as she practically tore off her own shirt, throwing it aside as she leapt into the sea. She was only wearing a black sports bra underneath, and the cold of the water hit her like a ton of bricks, but it didn't matter- she didn't need the extra drag resistance from the shirt to slow her down. The only thing on her mind was getting to her friends.

She swam quickly and efficiently, her eyes trained on her target. It was extremely difficult to do so as the waves kept throwing her off course, but she managed it. For once, Byakuya thanked the heavens for her masculine frame- it helped loads in swimming against the currents. Her adrenaline was pumping, and she barely registered the burn of her muscles as she exerted all her strength into her swimming. The girl barely noticed that Haru had caught up to her as well; headed for the same target.

As she neared Makoto and Rei, the waves seemed to grow more and more fierce as they swept over them. Byakuya hesitated as she registered a new fact- Makoto was an experienced swimmer; he could hold his own against the currents better, but with his fear of the ocean, he could very well be struggling. Rei, on the other hand, was a beginner, and would most likely be less used to this force of nature. Who was she going to head towards? Who was she supposed to help?

The girl grit her teeth as her thoughts conflicted. Her best friend could be in trouble, yet another of her friends WAS in trouble. Her mind told her to head towards Rei, but she wanted to head towards Makoto... What was she to do?

'Haru-kun. Nagi-kun and I can handle Rei-kun, so... please look out for Mako on this trip, alright?'

"I've got Rei! " She yelled out to Haru as she adjusted her course, swimming towards the blue-haired figure of Rei. She didn't hear Haru's response as another wave swept over her, but she kept on going. She had to reassure herself that Haru would remember his end of the deal; that he would take care of Makoto. She had to trust in him, even with all the doubts she held.

When she finally swam up to the bluenette, she grabbed his arm and pulled it around her shoulders. Rei gasped for air while she steadied him, struggling to keep them both afloat. Despite her capabilities, she was still a girl, and it was difficult for her to maintain her energy after so much swimming. She was beginning to worry for a moment, when a familiar blonde swam up next to Rei, hooking the boy's other arm over his shoulder.

"Nagi-kun?!" Byakuya exclaimed, relieved at having someone else to help her support Rei's weight. The blonde had probably ignored Haru's request to go find Miss Amakata and had come after them- Byakuya had never been more glad for the boy's independent nature.

"I've got you, Rei-chan!" Nagisa called out. Byakuya craned her neck around enough to see that Haru had caught up to Mako as well, and was keeping him above the water. Just as she started to feel relieved, a dark shadow fell over them, and she snapped her head back towards its source. Her eyes widened when she saw what had to be one of the biggest waves she had ever seen approaching- and from the looks of it, it was about to crash down on them.

"No way..." Nagisa said in shock, also seeing the huge wave.

"Nagi-kun! Haru-kun! Hang on!" Byakuya cried out, before taking a large gasp of air and holding her breath as she prepared for the wave to crash down. She felt Nagisa's hand clenching onto her own as he, too, held on to the Ryugazaki boy. Only one thought came to her mind as the wave came down upon them, hitting them like a truck.

'Makoto, please be okay.'

* * *

><p>Haruka panted heavily as he stood up on the sand, half-dragging an unconscious Makoto onto shore. One of the taller boy's arms was draped across his shoulder, and Haru trembled slightly from the strain of carrying his large friend. He trudged forth anyway, bringing both himself and Makoto further up the beach before he fell to his knees, carefully laying Makoto on the ground in front of him.<p>

"Makoto!" He called out, shaking his friend by the shoulders. "Makoto! Wake up!"

No response. Haru felt a cold stab of fear, and he frantically looked around the beach he found himself on, hoping to find someone.

"Anyone... is someone there?! Byakuya? Nagisa? Rei?" Haruka yelled, his voice rising in panic. No one answered.

Shock overcame Haru for a moment as he realized he was alone. He put a trembling hand to his mouth, trying to figure out what to do. He was so used to having Makoto supporting him, not the other way around. What could he do? What if Makoto was dying? What would he do if he lost Mako now?

"First rule when it comes to saving someone's life: Do. Not. Panic."

With a start, Haru recalled the words of his old coach. After he had nearly drowned in a river in grade school, Mikasa Shion had taken it upon herself to teach him and the others basic first aid should they ever find themselves in a similar situation again. He could hear her gentle, soothing voice in the recesses of his mind and he forced himself to calm down, taking deep, steady breaths to slow his racing heart. He recalled the lessons she had given, and managed to think clearly enough to follow the usual first aid procedure.

Haruka placed his ear against Makoto's chest, listening closely. To his immense relief, he could hear the thumping of his heart beating steadily in his chest.

"It's beating." He said to himself, taking that off his mental checklist. "Is he injured?" Haruka looked his friend over to see if there were any cuts or other wounds. Nothing. Good.

Haru then leaned closer to Makoto's face, his ear placed near his mouth to check for his friend's breathing. It was faint, but he was able to feel Makoto's breath against his face. "His breathing is so weak..." Haru muttered to himself, placing a hand to his chin as he pondered what to do next.

The last steps of Coach Shion's advice came to him. Back then, he, along with the other kids of the swim club, had been somewhat grossed out by this part of the lesson, but now he found himself extremely grateful for it. He was uncertain about using it now, but knew nothing else he could do. Hesitantly, he tilted Makoto's head back and leaned closer, preparing to give him CPR...

Just then, Makoto choked and turned onto his side, coughing up water as he did so. Haruka straightened back up immediately in surprise.

"Makoto!" He exclaimed, relief lacing his voice. Makoto was alright, thank goodness...

"Haru...ka.." Makoto choked out weakly, still not quite recovered from the near-drowning experience.

"Are you okay?" Haruka asked immediately.

"Where are we?" Makoto said, struggling to sit back up. Haru helped him to do so.

"I'm guessing this is Sukishima. The island facing the tents." Haruka explained.

"Where's Rei?" Makoto said, his voice rising slightly as he regained his bearings. He tried to stand up, but Haru held him back. "Rei-"

"You shouldn't be moving around! You need to rest!" Haruka insisted.

"But Rei's in trouble!" Makoto retorted, still trying to stand up.

"Nagisa and Byakuya are taking care of it!" Haruka exclaimed, his voice louder than usual to emphasize his point. "You don't need to worry."

"Byaku-chan? Nagisa?" Makoto said in surprise, though he stopped his struggling.

"Yeah." Haru replied evenly, still supporting his friend.

"Is she okay?!" Makoto said immediately, his worry rising back up.

"Makoto. Calm down." Haruka said, his tone firm. He was somewhat irked at his friend's behaviour- even when he had nearly drowned, he was still so concerned over others more than himself. Makoto needed to rest, and Haru was determined to make sure he got it.

"But..." Makoto trailed off, staring at the ocean, concern evident in his emerald eyes. However, this time he heeded Haruka's advice to stay calm.

Haruka briefly glanced at the ocean as well, which had calmed noticeably since the storm had died down, but it was still dark and drizzling slightly. He helped Makoto to his feet as they both headed further up the shore go find shelter from the rain. As they did so, Haru's own thoughts wandered back to his other friends, wondering if they were okay. Even though he didn't voice his concerns, he was still worried, himself...

He knew Byakuya wasn't up to par with the others in terms of endurance and strength, and that made him feel discomforted. And what of Nagisa and Rei? They were both younger than the others, and Rei was the one who had been close to drowning...

'Everyone... be safe.'

* * *

><p>Byakuya struggled to get onto her feet once she felt the comforting feeling of sand beneath her, panting as she did so. It was too much strain though, and she fell to her knees again from the effort. She had reached her limit, and her arms shook slightly as she tried once more to get back up.<p>

"Byakuya... senpai...?" Rei panted, turning back towards the senior as he himself got to his feet. Nagisa had stood up as well, and hurried quickly to Byakuya's side, supporting her as she attempted to stand again.

"I...I'm fine." She protested, trying to push Nagisa away. It was a weak attempt, though, and she nearly fell over again as she did so. Nagisa laughed weakly through his own panting as he put her arm over his shoulders. Rei joined him as well, mirroring what the girl and Nagisa had done for him earlier.

"J-just hang in there, Bya-kun." Nagisa said lightheartedly as they walked further inland. They had no idea which island they were on, but at that point they didn't really care. "We'll find us a place to sit, okay?"

"Makoto." Byakuya coughed out as the three of them moved further up the shore. Her arms around the two boys tightened slightly as she looked about worriedly. "Where's Makoto?"

"It's just us, senpai." Rei said as they sat down on a fallen log in front of a low cliff by the beach. "Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai must have washed ashore somewhere else.

"Rei-kun..." Byakuya said, turning her gaze towards him as she slumped against the the cliff wall behind the fallen log. Despite her exhausted state, her eyes were alert and sharp as she recalled a very important detail. "What were you and Mako doing out in the ocean in the middle of a storm?"

"I-I'm sorry." Rei apologized, casting his eyes to the ground. "I tried to complete some training on my own, and when the storm came-"

"What were you thinking? Going out there by yourself?!" Byakuya said, her voice raising while Rei cringed. She coughed from the strain put on her voice, but continued anyway. "Why didn't you think about getting one of us to follow you, at least?"

"...I'm sorry. I just didn't want to hold any of you back." Rei said quietly.

Here Byakuya paused. Rei's words... they sounded an awful lot like her own when she had been going back to the swim club regularly before it got torn down. She had known the risks, but she did it anyway- without telling any of her friends. She hadn't wanted to trouble anyone- didn't want to hinder them any more than she could afford.

What Rei had done was barely any different from what she herself had done.

"...Sorry. I shouldn't be yelling at you like this. I'm just..." Byakuya trailed off for a moment, her voice softening. "You were only doing what you thought was right for all of us. We can't judge you for that."

"No, I deserve it. I was reckless, and I endangered everyone because of it." He sighed, placing his face in his hand.

"Rei-kun..."

Nagisa interrupted Byakuya just then, handing a blue kickboard to Rei as he did so. He must've wandered off for a bit and retrieved it from the ocean.

"Here, Rei-chan." He said cheerily.

"Ah, thank you." Rei responded as he took the kickboard, though he sounded utterly despondent.

"Are you okay?" Nagisa asked.

"Yes. I'm very sorry about this." Rei apologized once more.

"It's okay!" Nagisa reassured, his voice still lighthearted.

"But it's my fault that everyone-"

"That stuff can wait." Nagisa interrupted. "What's important now is that we find the others!"

Rei turned his gaze back to the ocean, his violet eyes narrowing in concern. How were the others doing? Byakuya followed his gaze as she hugged her knees to her chest. She shivered slightly from the cold, but she was hardly bothered by that now. Was Makoto okay? Haru could take care of himself, she was sure, but Mako...

"I'm sure that they're fine." Nagisa said suddenly, smiling at his two brooding friends. He had to remain positive for both of their sakes.

"But..." Rei said slowly, recalling something strange. "I saw Makoto-senpai coming to help me, but he didn't seem like his usual self."

Byakuya started at the statement. She was somewhat surprised that Rei had even noticed something like that in the midst of nearly drowning, but his words made her heart plummet. Makoto... it must have been his fear of the ocean acting up. During a storm, it would only make sense that his fear would overrun him again. After what happened all those years ago... Oh god, what if he was hurt? Or worse...

"Bya-kun?" Nagisa called out suddenly, snapping Byakuya's attention back to him. He tilted his head curiously at the girl. "You spaced out."

"Y-yeah. Sorry. It's just... I'm worried about Mako." She confessed, her hands clasping together tightly as she shut her eyes briefly. The thought of losing Makoto was just too much for her to bear. What would she do if he was gone? She would be so lost...

Nagisa's eyes softened in understanding, and he smiled as he squatted in front of Byakuya.

"He'll be fine, Bya-kun!" Nagisa said cheerfully. "Stop worrying so much! Haru-chan is with him, remember?"

Byakuya paused for a moment at that reminder. Haruka... he would take care of Makoto. She knew he would. He'd promised, after all, and Makoto was easily more important to him than he was to her. They were practically brothers, and if Haru lost Mako... it would be like a part of him would be torn away. It would hurt him far more than it would hurt her if Mako died- Haruka wouldn't let it happen. She had to believe in him.

"Yes." Byakuya muttered. "Yes, you're right."

Nagisa grinned at her response. "If that's all okay then, you think you're ready to walk now, Bya-kun?" He asked.

Byakuya nodded once before leaning against the wall of the cliff for support. She slowly stood up, her leg muscles screaming as she did so. She had exerted herself more than she had in a long time, and she winced at the pain in her calves. Thankfully, Nagisa gave her a hand, and she was able to stand up properly again.

Byakuya gingerly tested out her feet- it stung a bit, but she deduced that she could walk on her own. Nagisa grinned at her success, and- not for the first time- Byakuya was glad to have the blonde as her friend. Always so optimistic and cheerful, he made the atmosphere brighter with his mere presence as he gave his friends his full support. A thought reoccured to her just then- the one she'd had after she got her History results back.

Without thinking twice, she leaned forth and planted a kiss on the boy's forehead, making him jump slightly in surprise.

"Bya-kun?!" Nagisa exclaimed. Even Rei looked surprised.

"Thank you, Nagi-kun." Byakuya said smilingly, before she turned around and started walking again. "Let's go then, shall we?"

"Y-yes!" The two underclassmen responded, falling into step next to the girl.

"What was that for, Bya-kun?" Nagisa asked.

"Just thanks. Do I need another reason to be nice to my friends?" Byakuya replied nochalantly, though her face was reddening from being so open with her emotions.

At that, Nagisa's grin brightened exponentially, and he jumped up and hooked his arms around Rei and necks, who both stumbled a little at the move. They smiled, however, and kept on walking together. They didn't quite know where they were going, but they would walk for as long as it took if it meant finding their friends again.

* * *

><p>AN: Before anyone kills me for not having Byakuya do CPR on Mako, trust me- I was really tempted to. However, given that that particular scene is rather significant to Haru's growth in the series, I let the idea slide. Though I will admit I left that last AN to deliberately get your hopes up. Told you I was a douche. April Fool's, everybody! *shot* Also, after chapter 29, updates might be lessened to once a week- Wednesdays only- because my exams have been pushed up pretty early- though I promise I'll try to get back to twice a week after it's all done!<p>

As usual, loads of thanks to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune and Kyoichi Amaya for reviewing, Heavenly Condemned for doing the above as well as favouriting and following my profile, USMCcAnthem for reviewing and adding my profile to your favourites, Marfo Faura for reviewing and following this fic, and Blueberrybaby for following my profile as well as favouriting this story! Ya'll are great! ;D


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

Haruka and Makoto sat under the cover of a cliff hanging low over their heads- a natural roof to shield them from the light downpour. Neither of them spoke as they sat on the sandy ground, just watching the rain as it fell. Haru was the one who broke the silence first, and he glanced over at his olive-haired friend.

"Have you calmed down?" Haru asked, his voice steady. He had to be so, after all- for once, he had to act as Makoto's support.

"Yeah." Makoto replied despondently. He was gazing at the waves lapping against the shore, his expression distant. The two of them fell silent again for a moment before Haruka hesitantly broached the subject on his mind.

"...You're still scared of the ocean, aren't you?" He asked quietly. Makoto looked back up at him for a brief moment before he averted his gaze again as he answered.

"I thought I'd gotten over it." Makoto said, his face bearing an almost bitter expression. "But when I saw Rei drowning... I completely froze. The memory of that day immediately surfaced."

Here, Makoto lowered his face into his trembling hand, cursing his own weakness. He'd tried so hard to overcome his fear, and yet...

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this." Makoto apologized, his voice shaking. He still didn't remove his hand from his face.

"It's not your fault." Haruka said quietly. From the way Makoto sounded, he was increasingly worried that his friend would have a breakdown. He wouldn't know what to say or do if that happened- Makoto was the comforter, not him.

"But... I was the one who decided to hold a camp. And I chose to start the swim club." Makoto said, his tone melancholy. "But that was because I wanted to swim with you all again. I wanted... to swim with everyone in a relay again."

Memories of the bunch of them as kids flooded Makoto's mind. They all would smile and laugh together while Haru would just remain as stoic as ever, but he knew that Haru always enjoyed those moments as much as they had. Haru was always there, his silent yet steady presence always by Makoto's side for as long as he could remember. The olive-haired boy gazed at his open palm, and he clenched it in determination. He looked Haru in the eye as he uttered his next sentence.

"But if you're not there... it's meaningless without you! I want to swim with you!"

Haruka took a sharp intake of breath at Makoto's heartfelt declaration, his blue eyes widening in shock. Makoto's own eyes were sincere and honest; he had meant what he said. Haru was his best friend, and he always wanted it to be that way. The relief Haruka had felt from earlier only increased further- thank god he had saved Makoto. He would have been beyond devastated if he hadn't been able to...

"Ah, there they are!"

The exuberant voice of Nagisa rang out over the empty beach, catching the two boys' attention. They turned to see Nagisa, Rei and Byakuya headed towards them; relief and surprise written on their faces. Nagisa ran towards his two friends, Rei and Byakuya following behind him.

"Haru-chan! Mako-chan!" Nagisa called out excitedly.

"Rei! Nagisa! Byaku-chan!" Makoto exclaimed, relief evident in his voice as he stood up to meet his friends. Haru stood up as well, immensely glad to see that his friends were alright. Makoto ran to meet the others halfway, Haru trailing behind him. The raven-haired boy briefly noted that Byakuya's originally relieved expression becoming carefully neutral as she and the other two neared them.

Haru had a good idea as to where this was going.

"Fantastic! You're all okay!" Makoto said as he came up to Rei and Nagisa, who wore similar expressions of relief on their faces.

"Rei," Makoto said, turning to the bluenette with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

"Don't say that!" Rei said immediately, bowing respectfully towards his senior. "I'm the one who should apologize."

"It's okay; I'm just glad you're unharmed." Makoto reassured, a kind smile on his face.

"It's not okay." Haruka cut in, his voice and eyes hard as he looked at Rei. "Why were you swimming in the ocean at night?"

Rei started for a bit at the question, feeling the same wave of shame that came over him when Byakuya had yelled at him. To be reprimanded by Haruka, who he looked up to...

"You were practicing, right?" Nagisa interjected, his voice light as he tried to smooth out the situation. "He wants to catch up to the rest of us."

Haruka started at the statement- Rei had done something so dangerous... to better himself for the team?

"...Yes." Rei admitted, glad to have Nagisa stand up for him. Haruka glanced away, feeling slightly ashamed at making the boy feel bad.

"Besides, Rei-chan wasn't the only one at fault." Nagisa said reprimandingly as he raised his index finger. "Mako-chan, you shouldn't have tried to save him by yourself! And Haru-chan, you just dove into the water without thinking!"

"So did you and Byakuya." Haruka deadpanned.

"That's right!" Nagisa exclaimed, turning to the girl who had been silent all this time. "Bya-"

But before he could finish his sentence, Byakuya's eyes sharpened immediately and she stormed forth, coming right up to Makoto as she ignored Nagisa's indignant exclamation.

And she punched Makoto in the chest. Hard.

The olive-haired boy let out a small "oof" and bent over slightly at the impact. He definitely hadn't been expecting that, and judging from the collective gasps of the others, neither had they.

"You idiot!" Byakuya yelled, making them all wince. Makoto slowly straightened up, rubbing his chest as he did so- that girl could really punch. He hesitantly glanced up at her furious expression, and immediately started to apologize.

"I'm sor-"

Before Mako could finish, another impact took him by surprise. He stumbled a bit as he regained his balance, not quite comprehending at first what had just happened. When he did, though, he realized with a start that Byakuya had wrapped her arms around his torso, her face buried into his chest.

"You idiot." She repeated, though this time her voice was softer and almost shaky. "I thought I'd lost you... Don't you ever scare me like that again."

Makoto's eyes softened at the girl's statement, feeling immensely guilty. Just as Haru was earlier, Byakuya had been worried- terrified, even- for his life. She was even shaking slightly as she held onto him- whether it was from the cold, relief, exhaustion, or a combination of the above, Makoto did not know. But he returned the girl's embrace, holding her tightly as if it would reassure her that it was all okay- that he was okay.

"I'm sorry." He repeated, gently running his hand over her hair. "I won't do it again, I promise."

"You'd better not. I'll kill you myself if you do." She mumbled.

Makoto chuckled lightly at the statement, holding her tighter. The others simply watched the scene in silence, not quite daring to break up the moment between the two. Haru's expression was neutral, but as he watched Byakuya holding onto Makoto like she was almost afraid to let go, he recalled- once again- Mikasa, and how she had hugged him the same way after his own near-drowning incident in grade school. It was thanks to her teachings that he had managed to remain calm in this situation, and for that he could not have been more grateful.

'Thank you, obasan.' Haru thought to himself, shutting his eyes briefly.

After a while, Byakuya finally released her hold on Makoto. She backed up, quickly rubbing her hand over her eyes- dammit, she was getting teary. She wouldn't let herself break now, though- Mako was safe, and that was all that mattered. Once she composed herself, she glanced back up at her friends.

"One word and I will murder you." She threatened, her tone watery as she glared at the other three boys. They all swallowed nervously at the statement- despite how beat up and tired she looked, they didn't doubt that she would fulfill her threat without hesitation.

Plus, they were worried that she would burst into tears if they pushed her too far at this point in time. It would make things so much more complicated if they made a girl cry.

"Anyways, what's important is that we're all okay, right?" Nagisa said cheerily, grinning at his friends. His happiness was contagious, and soon they all found themselves smiling at each other, all glad that they were safe and well. A gust of wind blew by just then, and Nagisa shivered and hugged himself.

"Isn't it kinda cold?" He asked, smiling sheepishly. "Especially for you, Bya-kun? You're only wearing-"

"D-don't point it out." Byakuya stuttered, flushing slightly. She was rather uncomfortable with the situation she found herself in- she was clad in nothing but her innerwear and shorts, for crying out loud! She had never even exposed her midriff before this!

"You're trembling." Makoto said worriedly, pulling the girl closer to him. Even though he was pretty cold himself, he still radiated a bit of heat- something Byakuya was immensely grateful for, despite the fact that her face was growing uncomfortably hot at being so close to him. The Tachibana boy himself was trying very not to stare at her- He wasn't quite used to having Byakuya clad in such little clothing, and couldn't help but feel irrationally uncomfortable about having the others see her dressed like this.

Makoto glanced around the island they were on, trying to see if he could find a place they could take shelter in- the cold really was harsh. "I wonder if we can find shelter from the rain anywh- oh!"

The others all followed Makoto's stare at his exclamation, their eyes landing on a lighthouse high above the cliff they were standing below.

"A lighthouse?" Rei said, surprised.

"We can stay in there until the rain stops!" Nagisa said enthusiastically.

"It's rather high up- do you think you'll be able to make it up there, Byakuya-senpai?" Rei asked. He remembered how unsteady the girl was earlier on, and he wondered if she was really ready for such a long walk- the lighthouse was pretty far away.

"I'll be fine. It's just a small walk." Byakuya said, though she felt like dying on the inside. Her leg muscles were still screaming at her, but there was no way she was gonna let that stop her and her friends from finding shelter.

"Are you sure?" Haruka asked skeptically. He knew just how stubborn the girl could be when it came to pushing her limitations, and he was highly doubtful Rei would have asked her about her ability to walk if it wasn't that serious.

"Positive. Let's go." Byakuya declared, walking on ahead.

Her confidence would have been a lot more convincing if she hadn't stumbled a few steps in and almost fell.

The others all shared a look of agreement- there was no way they were going to let Byakuya walk all the way up there in that state.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I'm feeling much better. Put me down now?" Byakuya pleaded desperately, her face flushed.<p>

"No." Makoto replied simply.

"Makotooooo..." Byakuya whined.

"You need to let your legs rest, Byaku-chan. Straining them further isn't going to do you any good."

"At least put me down halfway?"

"I'm only putting you down when we reach the top."

"But your arms have got to be hurting, right? So it'll be best if we can just negotiate-"

"Byakuya. No."

"Makotooooo..."

"No."

"Does this happen often?" Rei asked Nagisa and Haruka hesitantly, sweatdropping at the exchange the two seniors were having. Makoto was walking in front of the three of them, carrying Byakuya as he walked. The girl had been literally swept off her feet by the Tachibana boy, who was determined to make sure that she didn't put any more stress on her clearly exhausted legs.

Unfortunately, Byakuya was just as determined to make him put her down. But on the other hand, Makoto wasn't budging. The others just watched.

"Bya-kun doesn't like being fussed over." Nagisa explained, laughing sheepishly. "She nearly fainted after a 400m race once, and she still wouldn't let anyone help her."

"Bull-headed woman." Haruka muttered.

"I heard that!" Byakuya yelled.

"How come she gets to get carried when she isn't even appreciating it?" Nagisa complained. "I wanna be carried too..."

"A man is the one who should do the carrying, Nagisa-kun." Rei corrected. "Imagine how unsightly and undignified it would be if a woman were to carry a man, instead."

"So we're the bottom 1% again?!" Nagisa whined. "It's not fair that Bya-kun gets privileges just because she's Mako-chan's girlfriend-"

"I'm not his girlfriend!" "She's not my girlfriend!" Came the responses of the two teens walking ahead of them, their faces red as they vehemently denied any sort of relationship beyond their platonic one.

Haruka just sighed under his breath. Those two were hopeless.

* * *

><p>The old lighthouse was a lot more rundown than it looked from afar. It wasn't a big lighthouse- more like a building with a very bright spotlight at the top, constantly spinning around and providing light for any ships that were passing by. The walls were peeling, and the inside was dark and dank. The windows were cracked and collecting dust, and the only light source came from the main spotlight at the very top. Hanging above the entrance was a raggedy sign barely hanging on by its hinges which read 'Sukishima Rest House'.<p>

"Rest howse? What's a rest howse?" Nagisa read aloud.

"It's a rest HOUSE." Rei corrected.

"I'm getting a very 'Old Swim Club' vibe from this." Byakuya muttered. Makoto had kept his promise and put her down once they reached the top, and she currently found it very difficult to look him in the eye.

And her pride wouldn't let her admit that the carrying had definitely saved her a lot of pain- her legs were feeling a lot better now.

"Let's go inside." Nagisa suggested, heading towards the old building.

"Eh? We're really going in?" Rei exclaimed. It looked like it had been years since anyone had actually used the place, and if he was completely honest, the stories of ax-murderers that Byakuya had spoken about had him feeling rather paranoid.

"Makoto, are you okay?" Haruka asked, glancing back at his friend. He knew the taller boy was rather hesitant when it came to entering places like these- he was pretty easily scared, despite his large stature.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Makoto reassured.

"Hey, stop talking like a couple about to enter a haunted house." Nagisa said, turning back to look at the other three. "Bya-kun will get jealous."

"Shut up." Byakuya growled, her face flushing. Haru's brow twitched slightly at the comment and he moved closer to the blonde boy.

"Did you see that shadow?" Haruka said eerily, pointing into the shadows of the dark building.

It had its effect, alright. Nagisa started making a sound that sounded like something between terrified shrieking and hysterical laughter, while Rei cowered behind the kickboard he was holding.

"...Haru-kun, please don't do that again." Byakuya said calmly, though her face seemed paler and her legs seemed to be shaking. Makoto looked a little pale himself, and Haru shot them an apologetic glance.

"Oh, sorry." He said. He hadn't meant to scare them as well.

"I-it's okay." Makoto reassured.

"No it's not. I nearly had a heart attack." Byakuya grumbled.

"I'll take a look inside," Haruka said. "So you all wait out here."

"Like hell we are." Byakuya interjected, stepping up to the raven-haired boy. "Don't you watch those movies? Rule number one: Never go into the dark scary places alone!"

Haruka paused at the girl's statement. While normally he would just brush off the somewhat ridiculous remark with a "whatever" and just go on ahead, the events of today came back to his mind, and he realized something. Despite how senseless the girl's statements seemed sometimes, she was simply using them to cover up her real concerns- in this case, she was trying to look out for him.

"I'll come with you, too." Makoto added. "It'll be fine since we're all together."

Haru stared at his two friends, one shooting him a kind and reassuring smile, the other smirking yet thoughtful. Both so different, yet always supportive of him in their own different ways.

Really- what would he do without them?

"Now you all sound like you're dating each other!" Nagisa exclaimed. "Is this some kind of love triangle?"

Byakuya stomped on Nagisa's foot before anyone else could react. Payback was good.

* * *

><p>"Wow, it's so dark." Nagisa commented as the five of them walked into the old building.<p>

"I have a feeling something is gonna pop out." Rei said nervously.

"Don't be ridiculous." Byakuya scoffed.

"Whoa!" Nagisa suddenly yelled, making them all jump in surprise. Rei gave a strangled yelp and hid behind his kickboard, while Byakuya nearly screamed as she ducked and covered her head.

"What?!" Makoto exclaimed as both he and Haru turned around, immediately alert. What had caused the Nagisa to shout like that?

"A flashlight!" Nagisa said cheerily, taking the yellow torch which had been hanging from a nearby wall.

"Don't scare us!" Rei said exasperatedly.

"You have got to stop doing that." Byakuya grumbled, regaining her composure.

"You're scared, aren't you, Bya-kun?" Nagisa said teasingly.

"Hell no." She responded simply.

"There's a rat."

"SHI-"

"See! You ARE scared!"

"Shut up! That wasn't funny!" Byakuya cried back, her face flushing in embarassment.

"C'mon, you two." Makoto sighed, trying to ignore how tightly Byakuya was holding onto his arm after the scare. It felt like the circulation in the limb was getting cut off, but he made no move to get her to release it. "Let's get moving."

"Right!" Nagisa said cheerily, handing the flashlight to Haru- who was leading the group. The raven-haired teen turned the flashlight on and used its light to get a better look at the surroundings.

"Nothing here." He declared, moving on to another area. The others followed behind him, cautiously looking around the empty halls of the building. They came to another open doorway, and peered inside cautiously.

"Looks like this might have been a kitchen." Haruka deduced, looking around at the walls of the room which were lined with cabinets and shelves. A kitchen counter stood in the middle of the room as well, and there was even an old fridge lined up against the wall.

"Oh! Then there might be food!" Nagisa suggested. "I'm starving!"

"How can you even think about food in this situation?" Rei deadpanned. The blonde really was a quirky fellow...

"Aww." Nagisa gushed.

"That wasn't a compliment." Rei said, his brow twitching.

"Alright! Let's search around!" Nagisa declared, ignoring Rei's remark. "I'll check the cabinet over here! Haru-chan and Mako-chan can look under the sink! Rei-chan and Bya-kun get to check out the dubious-looking fridge!"

"Wait! Why do I get stuck with the worst job?!" Rei said indignantly, glaring at Nagisa. Byakuya's face just paled significantly as she blanched.

"Bya-kun said she wasn't scared! As for you, it's because 'Rei-chan' stands for 'refridge-Rei-tor'!" Nagisa said enthusiastically, making a playful gunshot move with his hand.

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?!" Rei exclaimed, his eyebrow twitching even more violently.

"I'm gonna throw up." Byakuya peeped out. "Because of nerves and that horrible pun."

"I-I refuse!" Rei continued indignantly. "I have a feeling something is gonna ooze out if I open the door."

"I'm too young to die." Byakuya groaned. Despite her efforts to keep up a cool front, she was actually really jumpy right now.

"Stop it." Haruka said exasperatedly. These guys let their imaginations run away with them way too often.

"I could take your place if you don't want to, Byaku-chan." Makoto offered.

"N-no. I can do it. I'll do it." Byakuya said determinedly. There was no way she was going to let Mako be brave for her own sake again- he was pretty scared, too, and if he could do it, then so could she.

"Then we'll use rock, paper, scissors to decide who else opens the fridge." Nagisa suggested.

"Do we really have to open it?" Rei asked, a final attempt to talk them out of it.

"It's the most likely place to have food." Nagisa reasoned.

"There's no power, though." Haruka pointed out.

"Right now, the fridge is our only hope!" Nagisa defended.

"Why don't you open it, then?" Byakuya said.

"Ehh? What if something jumps out at me?"

"So you're throwing us to the sharks instead?!"

"Okay!" Nagisa said cheerily, ignoring Byakuya's comment. "C'mon, everyone! Rock, paper... Scissors!"

The five of them all cast out their hands. Rei was the only ones who had chosen Rock, while all the others had gone with Paper. Rei stared at his hand like it had betrayed him.

"See? It's still Rei-chan!" Nagisa cheered, brandishing the kickboard he had taken from Rei. "Fight!"

"If I die, feed my dog." Byakuya said despairingly.

"You don't have a dog." Haruka pointed out.

"I've always wanted one." Byakuya shrugged.

Rei and Byakuya slowly approached the old fridge, and stood in front of it unmoving for a while as they gathered their wits. The others all stood a ways behind, watching closely as the two prepared to open the doors of the fridge.

"You take the left door, I'll take the right?" Byakuya suggested, her heart racing as the dreaded revelation approached. Rei nodded as he swallowed hard and grasped the handle of the fridge's left door.

"On the count of three." Rei said, his voice close to shaking. "One...two...three!"

They opened the doors in one swift movement. Nothing jumped out and ate their faces- the fridge was completely empty.

"Whew." Rei sighed, his heart finally calming down. Byakuya slumped against the wall as she laughed weakly in relief.

"It's empty? That's too bad." Nagisa said, disappointed.

"My dog won't starve!" Byakuya said happily.

"You don't have one."

"I can always dream, dammit."

* * *

><p>"Alright, everyone! Put these on!" Nagisa said enthusiastically, brandishing two orange aprons which were wrapped in plastic. On the front were the words 'Sukishima Rest House' in bold. The blonde was wearing one of the hideous things himself, and so was Haru. Rei, Byakuya and Makoto sweatdropped at the sight.<p>

"Why are we wearing those?" Rei deadpanned.

"I couldn't find anything else, don't complain." Nagisa replied.

"Orange. Always orange." Byakuya muttered. She really didn't like that colour- it looked terrible on her.

"We're dry now, so that's not necessary." Makoto added, not really wanting to wear that thing himself. Sure, he liked orange, but this was pushing it.

"Haru-kun's cooking again?" Byakuya commented, walking over to the raven-haired boy. They had managed to find a small table on the second floor of the old rest house, and had managed to scavenge out a gas lamp, a stove, and several cans of food among other things. Naturally, Haru was the one who voluntarily set to work on cooking the food.

"And once again..." Rei muttered, staring at the dish Haru was preparing.

"Pineapple mackerel..." Nagisa finished, his tone somewhat reluctant. As good as Haru's cooking was, mackerel was getting old. The same went for pineapple.

"Looks like we lucked out." Haruka said as he continued cooking. Obviously, he hadn't noticed the deadpanned looks being shot at him.

"Uh, can't you eat them separately?" Rei said nervously. He was ignored as Haru simply slipped another piece of pineapple onto the fish he was cooking.

The two underclassmen sweatdropped. How was it possible that the stoic senior hadn't gotten sick of mackerel yet?

"Looks like they're finally beginning to understand." Byakuya joked lightly. Makoto just patted her head in response, shooting her a small, half-hearted smile.

"This water hasn't expired yet, so we can boil it and drink it." The Tachibana boy continued, lifting up one of the bottles of water they had found.

"Well, at least we don't have to collect rainwater or anything now." Byakuya commented lightly. Makoto just gave her another one of those small smiles, and Byakuya frowned. Makoto wasn't smiling like he normally did, and that didn't sit right with her. The incident from earlier must have affected him more than he let on...

The girl caught Nagisa's eye for a moment, and the two shared a look. They knew what they had to do- it was what they did best, after all.

It was time to make everyone laugh.

* * *

><p>AN: I do hope Byakuya's mood changes from serious to lighthearted isn't too confusing. I imagine her to be the type who likes to cover up her darker emotions with cheerful ones, thus resulting in her trying to make others cheery as well. Is it too bipolar? I hope not- do inform me if you think it is. ;P<p>

Shout out to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, Kyoichi Amaya, AmIValid and Heavenly Condemned for reviewing, and maggikarps for doing the above as well as favouriting and following this story! 8D


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Pineapple mackerel and hot water..." Nagisa said despondently, blowing slightly on his cup of water before taking a long sip. It wasn't exactly comfortable.

"You should be grateful that we found anything edible." Haruka responded simply. They had finally finished making the food and boiling the water, and were sitting around the table as they had their supper- of sorts.

"True. I just have to use my imagination!" Nagisa piped up. "This isn't water, it's rich consomme soup! The ultimate soup, glistening gold!"

"You keep telling yourself that, Nagi-kun." Byakuya said blandly.

"Doesn't that just make you feel worse?" Rei added.

"This is the problem with people who have no imagination." Nagisa muttered.

"Screw you." Byakuya retorted. Rei just made an indignant sound.

"At least it warmed us up." Makoto commented optimistically.

"Yeah." Nagisa agreed.

Haruka glanced out the window briefly and saw that the rain was still pouring down. It was still dark out, so that must have meant it was still pretty early in the morning.

"It's still raining." He commented idly.

"I guess we'll have to stay here until morning." Rei said, somewhat despondently. They weren't exactly in the most comfortable situation at the moment.

"What do we do next?" Nagisa asked cheerily.

"Sleep." Haruka responded.

"Yes." Byakuya groaned, placing her head on her arms, which were crossed over the table. "Please, sleep."

"Ehh? But we're stranded on a deserted island!" Nagisa complained. "Aren't we supposed to harpoon fish and search for edible mushrooms?"

The sound of Byakuya's muffled cursing could be heard from between her hands at the blonde's statement.

"We're not on a TV show." Rei said exasperatedly.

"Still it's hard to go to sleep in this situation." Makoto mused.

"Can't deny that." Byakuya sighed as she straightened up. She placed her chin in her hand and drummed her fingers against the table as she did so. "So... something to pass the time..."

The others all kept quiet as they considered their options. For a while, no one said anything, until Nagisa suddenly took a sharp intake of breath as a brilliant idea came to mind.

"I know!" He exclaimed, his voice excited. "That's what we can do!"

"Eh, let's hear it." Byakuya said. "Whaddya have in mind?"

* * *

><p>"You're actually pretty resourceful with this kind of thing, Bya-kun." Nagisa commented as he watched the girl finish taping up the large dice she had made out of several old cardboard sheets that had been lying around. At Nagisa's suggestion, they had all agreed to go along with his plan of playing a conversation game with each other, and Byakuya had volunteered to make the dice. "Considering you suck at arts and crafts."<p>

"Says the guy who draws like Picasso." Byakuya grunted. Despite her complaints, though, she finished up the dice on which she had written all their names and handed it to Nagisa. The boy enthusiastically took the cube from her and didn't hesitate to roll it right away.

"Who's it gonna be? Who's it gonna be?" He chanted as the dice began to slow down. After a few more turns, the dice stopped on Rei's name.

"It's Rei-chan!" Nagisa cheered.

"Uh, my name's on two of the faces." Rei pointed out. He was standing next to Makoto and Haru, who were sitting on the floor in the centre of the room. They had shifted their positions and placed the gas lamp in the middle of their little 'circle' to create a more comfortable atmosphere for their game.

"Because you're Rei-chan." Nagisa replied simply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rei asked. He was feeling somewhat miffed at all the unfairness he was receiving- first the fridge, and now this?!

"Oh fine. I was just feeling mean." Byakuya admitted. "Sorry, Butterfly-chan."

"That name again?" Rei's eye twitched.

"At least I didn't write it on the dice."

"Okay, Rei-chan!" Nagisa cut in, returning with Byakuya to sit in their little circle. "Tell us an embarrassing story!"

"Why does it have to be an embarrassing story?" Rei exclaimed.

"Go ahead!" Nagisa insisted.

"We all have our embarrassing moments. Don't worry, we'll understand." Makoto reassured.

Rei reluctantly sighed. They weren't gonna let this go, so he might as well get it over with.

"This happened when I was in fifth grade." He said, his voice somewhat strained. "I was on a school field trip. And... I left something in the bath."

"'Something'?" Byakuya tilted her head.

"It's complicated." Rei flushed, placing his face in his hand. "One of the teachers in charge found it, and brought it out to find the owner. He was just... brandishing it for the whole class to see, and everyone was laughing... "

"...Oh." Byakuya said in realization. There was only one thing that made sense as to why Rei was so embarassed now...

"So it was your underwear?" Nagisa asked.

"Don't rub it in." Rei mumbled out. He couldn't believe he had just admitted that...

"Rei, uh..." Makoto trailed off. He didn't really know what to say to the embarrassed boy.

"Don't worry." Nagisa said cheerily, patting Rei's shoulder. "If you leave your underwear in the locker room, I'll go get it for you!"

"I won't!" Rei exclaimed indignantly. He really should have lied and made up a story...

* * *

><p>"Oh, Haru-chan's up next!" Nagisa announced as the dice stopped on Haru's name.<p>

Rei sighed in relief. It wasn't his turn again, thank goodness...

"Ooh, make this one count, Nagi-kun!" Byakuya said enthusiastically. This was the perfect opportunity to find out more about the silent teen.

"Let's see..." Nagisa thought about it for a moment. "Tell us about a romantic encounter you've had! Or, in short, a love story!"

"...Wow." Byakuya blinked. That was unexpected.

"Love story?" Makoto repeated, surprised.

"Go ahead." Nagisa cued.

"My turn?" Haruka muttered as he stood up, preparing to answer the question. Rei scuttled over to Makoto and Byakuya as he whispered to them.

"Haruka-senpai's been in love before?" He asked curiously.

"Er, I have no idea." Makoto replied. This was news to him.

"Me neither. This should be good." Byakuya leaned in eagerly as Haru began his story.

"When I was in grade school, my parents took me to climb a mountain nearby." "That was where I had my fateful encounter." Haruka said, none too dramatically. The others had by this time gathered closer and were listening intently. The stoic, seemingly nonplussed Haruka- in love? They couldn't wait to hear who it was.

"I couldn't look away." Haruka continued, his voice taking on a somewhat awed and dreamy tone. That intensely beautiful, positively vibrant..."

Love at first sight? Who was this girl? Their curiosities were piqued even further, until Haruka finally said...

"...sparkling and pristine waterfall." Haru finished, his eyes shut as he recalled the memory.

"Waterfall." The others deadpanned, sighing as they did so. Typical Haruka.

"That doesn't count as a love story, Haru-chan." Nagisa complained, disappointed that he hadn't found out that his friend had a lady love or anything of the sort.

"Actually, it makes sense." Byakuya laughed sheepishly. She could actually imagine the stoic teen being romantically attracted to water.

Haruka just remained standing, the dreamy expression never leaving his face. His first love truly had certainly been an amazing sight.

* * *

><p>"Bya-kun! It's your turn!" Nagisa announced, pointing at the sole female of the group. "Let's see... tell us something none of us know about you!"<p>

"For real? Of all the questions to ask..." Byakuya sighed.

"C'mon, tell us!" The blonde insisted.

"Alright, alright." The girl paused for a while before she answered. "Let's see... I used to fantasize about marrying Haru-kun when I was a kid."

"What?!" They all exclaimed. Haru looked like he had been slapped in the face.

"You asked for something you didn't know." Byakuya murmured, regretting her words immediately. She really should think before talking...

"Wedding fantasies?" Makoto sweatdropped. Even he hadn't heard that one...

"Haru-chan and Bya-kun..." Nagisa mused.

"I can't really see it." Rei commented.

"Please stop." Haruka said curtly.

"Yes. Please do." Byakuya muttered, her face turning red.

"But I didn't even know you liked Haru-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"I got over it. So... don't freak out, Haru-kun." Byakuya said sheepishly.

"In that case...who do you fantasize about now, Bya-kun?" Nagisa asked.

"It's one question per turn." Byakuya replied curtly.

"You can tell us!"

"It's none of your business."

"It's Mako-chan, isn't it?"

"I said it's none of your business!"

"You're blushing, Bya-kun!"

"That's just the light!"

"You seem to be in serious denial, senpai."

"I am not! Can we just go on to the next turn already?!"

The two underclassmen just laughed at her expense, making Byakuya's blush darken as she ducked her head embarrassedly. Where was a time machine when you needed one...

* * *

><p>"Okay! It's my turn!" Nagisa announced as he mock-saluted. "I have a performance for you all!"<p>

"You're weaseling out of the questioning." Byakuya said, her brow twitching. After all the embarrassment Nagisa had caused with his questions, it didn't seem fair that he would get away scot-free.

"Don't complain! Just enjoy the show!" Nagisa exclaimed. He then proceeded to stick both his arms to his sides, straight out. His legs went completely straight as well as he waddled along like that, his lips jutting out in an almost duck-faced manner.

"What are you doing?" Haruka deadpanned. The boy looked absolutely ridiculous.

"Is that supposed to be some sort of Frankenstein monster impression?" Byakuya laughed, covering her smile with a hand.

"Can't you tell?" Nagisa complained. "It was a rockhopper penguin imitation!"

"It was?" Haruka said skeptically.

"I couldn't tell." Rei added.

"E-eh?" Nagisa exclaimed, resuming the peculiar movement again. "How can you not tell? Just look at this, look!"

"Still looks like the Frankenstein monster to me." Byakuya continued, laughing as she did so. To her surprise and relief, Makoto gave a small laugh of his own.

"Ah, Mako-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, turning to the olive-haired teen. He grinned at the boy, who looked back at him in surprise. "You finally smiled."

"Eh?" Makoto said in surprise. His friend had noticed?

"That's good. You seemed a little subdued." Nagisa continued.

"C'mon, give us another one!" Byakuya urged playfully. "Seeing you without a smile just doesn't seem right. Like... like eating mackerel with toast!"

Haruka shot Byakuya an exasperated look at that statement, though he felt relieved at Makoto's lightened mood now as well. Makoto glanced at his friends in surprise, but his expression quickly changed to that of a gentle and grateful smile.

"I'm sorry for making you worry." He apologized softly. He really was grateful to have such wonderful friends looking out for him. Haruka stared at him with a neutral expression, though there was still concern reflected in his eyes.

"Don't be." Byakuya said smilingly as she placed a hand on his shoulder, just like how he always did whenever he comforted her. "It's been a pretty rough day- just be glad we're okay now."

"Uh..." Rei interrupted hesitantly. "I've been wondering... when you were trying to save me, you were acting strangely."

Makoto started at the statement, and became noticeably more perturbed at Rei's observation. Byakuya squeezed Makoto's shoulder kindly- he seemed pretty shocked that Rei had noticed that detail. She shot Rei a reprimanding glance, hoping he caught the message to drop the subject.

"We're not going to discuss it." Haruka said curtly.

"But-"

"Just drop it!" Haruka interrupted Rei, his voice hard. Even Byakuya flinched slightly at his voice- she hardly ever heard Haru use that tone. They all fell silent immediately, the previously lighthearted atmosphere dissipating. It seemed like a long while before Makoto finally broke the silence.

"Thanks, Haru." He said gratefully, shooting his friend a small smile. "But it's okay. This... is something I want to tell them."

Haruka hesitated, but glanced away; accepting his friend's decision. Byakuya bit her lower lip and considered interjecting, but decided against it. It was Makoto's secret to tell, and if he wanted to let them know, then so be it. She would simply have to back him up all the way and give him the support he needed. Makoto shot her a grateful look as well and removed her hand from his shoulder, though he held onto it as he turned back to face the others.

"I suddenly felt scared." He confessed quietly. Nagisa and Rei looked taken aback at the statement.

"Scared?" Rei asked confusedly.

"Scared of what?" Nagisa added.

"...I'm scared of the ocean." Makoto said simply. The statement made all of them fall silent, and they listened intently as Makoto began his story.

"When I was little, I would often visit this small fishing harbour in the next town." Makoto said. "There was this old fisherman there who was really nice, and would sometimes play with me. During the summer, there was this summer festival near the harbour. I wanted to scoop goldfish, but I had already used up all of my allowance. Instead, I just watched the goldfish swim.

"But then, the old fisherman showed up with some goldfish for me... I was really happy. But later that summer, there was a large typhoon, and that old fisherman's boat sank."

Here, Makoto paused for a moment and glanced down, a sad look on his face as he recalled those days, while the others simply kept silent as they continued listening.

"Many of the people on board drowned." He continued quietly. "The boat sank about three kilometers away from the harbour. We swim three kilometers every day."

Memories of that day flooded back into Makoto's mind- that day when he, Byakuya and Haruka were standing by the road as a funeral procession was going on. All the people dressed in white with solemn looks on their faces; while the three of them looked on in shock and confusion. Makoto had gripped tightly onto his friends' hands as he looked on with wide eyes, his hands trembling as he did so. He had been so young then, and could barely understand what was going on.

"I wasn't so much sad... as I was scared." Makoto continued. "I fed the goldfish and changed the water in the bowl, but they still died. Ever since then, I've been scared of the ocean. It feels like there's something unknown hiding in the water."

"...That's enough, Makoto." Haruka said quietly once Makoto finished his story.

"But you still tried to save me..." Rei trailed off in shock and disbelief. Makoto truly was a lot braver than he let on.

They all fell silent again,not quite sure what to say. It was Nagisa who spoke first.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Nagisa started slowly. "If you're scared of the ocean, why did you participate in this training camp?"

"Because... I wanted to swim." Makoto replied, grasping onto Byakuya's hand, which he still hadn't let go of. He smiled up at the others as he continued. "I wanted to swim with all of you. When the five of us swim together... I feel like we can go anywhere."

All of them started at the confession, and they stared at Makoto with wide eyes. The boy simply smiled back at them- he had meant what he'd said, and he wanted to make sure they knew just how much he appreciated them. They were his teammates, after all, and he cared for them dearly.

"...Hey, the rain stopped." Nagisa commented as he glanced out the window. The others all followed his gaze and saw that the boy was right- it had stopped raining, though the sky was still dark.

"So fast...?" Byakuya murmured. Time seemed to have flown by.

"Let's go outside!" Nagisa continued, pulling Rei along with him. "C'mon, Rei-chan!"

"H-hey! Wait!" Rei stuttered out as he was dragged along by the exuberant blonde. Makoto, Haruka and Byakuya were left staring after them blankly for a moment, before a playful smile spread across Byakuya's face.

"Hey, you two, let's go!" She said cheerily, grabbing onto both of their hands as she stood up. Haru and Mako both raised an eyebrow at what she was doing, but heeded her instructions anyway. The girl then proceeded to drag them along in a similar fashion as Nagisa had with Rei, grinning all the while.

Haruka and Makoto both shared a knowing look. They were both clearly thinking the same thing.

Thank goodness for friends like these guys.

* * *

><p>Nagisa ran outside onto the roof of the lighthouse excitedly, staring up at the sky as soon as he was out of the building.<p>

"Wow! It's gorgeous!" He said in awe. The sky was completely clear after the storm, offering a perfect view of the millions of stars lighting the night sky. It was like a dream- the heavenly bodies shone down upon the world and made the night seem utterly majestic and bright.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Byakuya gasped as she stared up at the sky, a smile on her face. This had to be one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.

"The sky is nice and clear." Rei commented as he and the others stepped outside and beheld the sight before them as well.

"There's the Summer Triangle." The bluenette continued, pointing at the pattern in the sky. The others looked at where he was pointing while he continued naming more constellations. "There's Vega from the constellation Lyra. Deneb from the constellation Cygnus. Altair from the constellation Aquila."

"Is that a squid constellation?!" Nagisa exclaimed, pointing up at the pattern he'd spotted.

"Oh, I see it! It even looks like it has that weird triangle thing on its head!" Byakuya enthused.

"Where's the mackerel constellation?" Haru asked immediately.

Makoto laughed amiably at their comments. "Neither of those exist."

"Is that the rockhopper penguin constellation?" Nagisa continued, ignoring what Makoto had said.

"No such thing." Rei said simply.

"Huh?! That's no fun! Let's pretend there is one!"

"I think I see a turtle up there!"

"That's just your imagination."

"I know! Let's make our own constellations!"

"Great idea, Bya-kun! I'm naming one after myself!"

"I call dibs on the turtle one!"

"You can't do that!"

"Oh fine. We'll name one after you, too. That one's Butterfly-chan."

"Don't name a star after that!"

"You want one too, Mako?"

"That's not really necessary..."

A sharp intake of breath from Nagisa caught all of their attentions. The blonde pointed at the ground, his eyes shining excitedly. "Hey, look at that!"

They all looked down, and gasped at what they saw. The rain had left a huge puddle of water which they were currently standing in, and the water was so clear it literally reflected the whole night sky on its surface. It was like they were standing amidst the sky and stars themselves.

Byakuya moved her hands to her mouth. She was utterly stunned, and her eyes were shining with awe. This was amazing.

They all just stood there and stared at the beautiful sight. Not a single one of them moved for fear of disrupting the moment, but for that short while, it was like time itself had stopped. It all seemed so surreal, and for a moment it was like they had all forgotten about the rest of the world. It was just them and the stars.

Makoto managed to tear his eyes away from the ground for a moment, and he glanced up at his friends. They were all too busy staring on in amazement at the sight before them to notice that he was looking at them, but still, the Tachibana boy smiled happily. They all just looked so serene, and he was glad to see them that way. He couldn't thank the heavens enough to be able to share this moment with them, and he continued smiling as he returned his gaze to the pool of stars.

They weren't sure how long they were standing there; just enjoying the beauty of nature, but it didn't matter. That night was one that was forever carved into their memories; one that would always bring a smile to their faces for years and years to come.

* * *

><p>As the sky began to brighten with the first rays of the morning, the five swimmers all made their way back down to the beach. During the journey back down through the forest of the island, Makoto hesitantly intertwined his hand with Byakuya's as the rest of the group walked on in front of them. She started at the move and glanced at him, brown eyes meeting emerald as they held each other's gazes for a while.<p>

"Thank you, Byaku-chan. For being here for me, too." Makoto said quietly, somewhat embarassed from his sudden boldness. He didn't regret it, though- after the game they had played in the lighthouse, he figured he'd better make a move before Byakuya started having more marriage fantasies about another guy.

The Shion girl's face turned a very interesting shade of red as she looked away immediately, trying to regain her composure. When she did, she took a deep breath and used her free hand to sock him in the arm.

"Don't think I've forgiven you for that scare so easily." Byakuya muttered, her eyes glued back to the ground. Her grip on their interlocked hands tightened slightly, though-it was a small gesture, but Makoto was able to recognize it as a sign of acknowledgement.

He rubbed the spot where she'd hit him and laughed sheepishly. Even when flustered, she could still hit hard.

And call it wishful thinking... but he was also beginning to suspect that perhaps his feelings weren't entirely one-sided. The thought made him smile as he continued the walk, still holding onto the girl's hand.

Unbeknownst to of them, Nagisa had witnessed the whole exchange. The blonde was grinning cheekily, and his pink eyes sparkled mischievously as he took note of the whole scene.

"Looks like Mako-chan and Bya-kun have finally made some progress!" He whispered excitedly to Haru and Rei, who had been walking ahead. The two boys simply glanced back briefly to observe the two teens hanging behind, both of whom were gazing intently at the ground as they walked hand-in-hand, their faces flushed.

"My assumption about being in denial was correct, then." Rei commented as he smiled smugly. He had guessed that the two seniors would have gotten together eventually; and in his opinion they made a good pair, despite their differences.

Haruka remained silent, but couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. He had been waiting for one of his two friends to make a move- they were just so shy with their feelings it was almost frustrating. Makoto was probably ecstatic now, and Haruka was glad for his friend's happiness. If there was someone who deserved to be happy, it was Makoto.

This day just kept getting better and better.

* * *

><p>"It's not too far away." Nagisa said idly as the five of them stood on the beach of Sukishima, facing the main island. The sun had already risen by then, and the day was bright.<p>

"If we wave, Miss Amakata and Gou-san might spot us." Rei suggested.

"They're probably still sleeping." Haruka replied logically.

"Lucky bastards." Byakuya muttered.

"Hopefully they'll notice that we're missing when they wake up and send a boat after us." Nagisa said. Makoto had been musing over the situation for a while, and finally gave his own suggestion.

"I'll swim over and let them know." He said nonchalantly. The others were all taken aback at his proposal.

"Huh?" They all exclaimed in unison.

"Have you lost your marbles?!" Byakuya exclaimed.

"Don't be stupid." Haruka added, his voice somewhat urgent.

"They're right." Rei supported. After what had transpired, was Makoto really serious about doing this again? Makoto simply turned his gaze to the ocean before he replied.

"But the ocean is so calm right now. Plus..." Makoto glanced back at his friends and gave a gentle smile. "Everybody's here with me."

That made all of them fall silent, touched at his words. Nagisa grinned Makoto happily before enthusiastically pumping his fist.

"I'll come with you, then!" The blonde said cheerily, heading towards the ocean without a second thought.

"I'm joining in as well." Rei added, following after Nagisa. Makoto looked at Haru and Byakuya, both of whom were staring at him. He smiled at them- his two closest friends in the world. Always by his side, no matter what; they were the ones who gave him the strength he needed to push forth. He couldn't be thankful enough for them.

"...You're an idiot." Byakuya muttered, though a smile played on her lips. Makoto just chuckled at her statement and patted her head- 'idiot' seemed to be more of a term of endearment when it came to Byakuya. He then turned his gaze to Haru and caught his eye, who had fallen silent once more. Makoto just shot him a knowing smile- It was a way of communication tha the two had established after all their years together, and in that one small gesture Makoto was able to convey entire sentences and his utmost thanks to his best friend.

"Okay! Let's see who can get there first!" Makoto announced, heading towards the edge of the shore as well. He tugged Byakuya along with him, and she complied laughingly.

"A race, then?" Nagisa said, his voice excited.

"Fine with me." Rei declared.

"Winner gets extra for breakfast!" Byakuya added.

"What? But we're all starving, too!" Nagisa complained.

"Swim fast, then!"

"Haru-chan! Hurry up!" Nagisa called out to the raven-haired teen, who was still standing on the beach.

"Haru! Come on!" Makoto added, waving his hand at him.

"Move it, Dolphin-chan!" Byakuya hollered, a grin on her face.

Haruka just stared at them for a moment before he sighed and complied.

He didn't show it, but he was smiling on the inside.

* * *

><p>Rin panted slightly as he ran a lap around the main island, his hair pulled up into a small ponytail to keep his hair from sticking to his neck from perspiration. As he continued his run, he came across two tents set up on the beach, and slowed down as he came closer to the tents. He had a pretty good idea who they belonged to, but to his surprise, the tents were completely empty. He started- it was still really early in the morning, where could they be? Ever since that storm that had awoken him for the briefest moment last night, he would be lying if he said he hadn't been at least a bit worried...<p>

A small commotion coming from the direction of the ocean caught his attention, and he stopped running entirely as he tried to pinpoint its source. To his surprise, he saw the five figures of the Iwatobi Swim Team swimming in the ocean, headed right back towards the main island. They had started training so early?

"What are they doing...?" He muttered to himself as he stared at the approaching figures. He could hear bits and pieces of their conversation as they came closer, and what he heard only irked him further.

"I'm pooped." Nagisa whined.

"I'll never move again after this." Byakuya added, her breathing growing heavy.

"We're almost there." Makoto reassured kindly, before turning to the blue-haired figure- Rin recognized him as the guy who had almost drowned during the swim practice at Samezuka. "Hang in there, Rei!"

"You're falling behind, Nagisa-kun!" Rei called out.

"I'm falling asleep..." Nagisa said, his voice growing slurred.

"Nagisa! Wake up!" Makoto exclaimed

"Oh man, don't do this to me now, Nagi-kun! You're heavy!" Byakuya complained. "Haru-kun! Help!"

"Troublesome." Haruka said exasperatedly, but he helped the blonde along anyway. They continued the conversation in a similar fashion as they continued swimming, while Rin looked on in growing frustration.

More laughter reached his ears, and his brow furrowed as he frowned disapprovingly. They weren't training seriously? What were they playing at? Prefecturals was in less than two months!

He grit his teeth agitatedly as he turned away and continued his run again. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel another emotion underlying the frustration he was feeling upon seeing his old friends having fun without him... but he quickly pushed it to the back of his mind before he could ponder upon it.

That didn't matter. All that mattered was winning.

* * *

><p>"Oh dear..." Miss Amakata commented as she and Kou arrived at the campsite where the five swimmers were camping out. Well, at least, where they should have been camping; if they were not...<p>

"What are you guys doing?" Kou deadpanned as she took in the sight before her. All five of the Iwatobi swimmers were knocked out on the beach, and she would have thought them dead if they weren't snoring lightly.

"Hung out to dry overnight?" Miss Amakata sweatdropped. "And why is Byakuya-chan not wearing a shirt...?"

Kou sighed as she clapped her hands loudly and stepped onto the beach, heading towards the five sleeping teens. "Okay, okay. Time to practice!"

They didn't even stir.

"Um..." This wasn't working out too well. Kou raised her voice and stepped right up to them as she continued. "Are you listening?! Wake up!"

"Keep your damn girl scout cookies." Byakuya mumbled out sleepily, obviously not awake.

Kou looked like she wanted to snap at the girl, but when she noticed the way Byakuya was sleeping, she thought better of it. The Shion was tucked closely against Makoto's side, and Makoto in turn had an arm around her. Evidently, neither of them seemed to really be aware of the close contact they were in- Kou was sure they would have jumped 10 feet apart if they did.

Kou sighed again, but smiled slightly as she relented. She'd let them all rest for now- they looked more peaceful than she'd ever seen them, and she decided to be merciful for once as she let them sleep. She was going to make them work to make up for it, though- double the regimen for their laziness. However, she would wait patiently until they woke up before she dumped the workload on then. After all, a manager had to look out for the wellbeing of the team as well as keeping them in top shape. She didn't know what they had been up to that had made them so tired, but she would let it slide.

Plus, Kou really wanted to see the expression on Byakuya's face when she woke up. It would make all the waiting worth it- that much was for sure.

* * *

><p>AN: For this chapter, I would like to give a big shout out to NotSauron for giving me the inspiration for the question Byakuya gets asked. Thanks a heap, buddy! ;D Also, the ending fluff is dedicated Kyoichi Amaya- sorry I couldn't put them both in the same tent, but you did inspire a new start to the filler along with the ending of this chapter, haha! Also, just a reminder that starting from next week I'll only be updating on Wednesdays until my schedule clears up.<p>

As usual, I hereby grant many thanks to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, Kyoichi Amaya and maggikarps for reviewing, and CharactersXReaders for faving and following my profile as well as this story! Thanks for the support, guys! ;D

See ya'll next chapter! 8D


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

Byakuya stirred from her sleep as she felt something brush against her feet. She slowly blinked open her eyes, not quite wanting to get up. Her bed was rather comfortable today- nice and warm...

The brushing sensation tickled her feet again, and she cast her gaze downwards to see the ocean before her. The waves were slowly rising slowly higher with the tides, resulting in them brushing against her feet. Grunting slightly, she tried to get herself into a sitting position, but felt something around her waist keeping her from doing so. She was perplexed, and looked down to see a pair of arms locked around her waist. It was then that she realized the fact that she was being held against another body as she lay on the beach- someone she couldn't see because she was facing the other way.

Byakuya did the only thing that came to mind. She shifted her arm and elbowed the person in the gut with all her strength.

"Gah!"

Oh shit. She recognized that voice.

The girl's brown eyes widened and she gave a small gasp as she spun around, sitting up. The hands around her waist had been retracted completely, giving her freedom of movement. What she saw next made her face pale.

Makoto was cringing as he lay on the beach, his arms holding his stomach- Byakuya guessed that was where she had elbowed him- and groaning in pain. Byakuya gasped in shock as she rushed closer to the boy, kneeling next to him.

"Oh shi- Mako! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" She cried frantically. She was panicking- she hadn't meant to hit Makoto! She thought she was locked in some captor's grip! "It was an accident! Don't die on me!"

Despite the obvious pain he was in, Makoto managed to let out a short bark of laughter.

"I-I'm alright, Byaku-chan." He assured, his voice strained. "Just... give me a moment."

"I'm sorry!" Byakuya panicked anyways.

"Mmh? What's goin on?" Nagisa mumbled as he sat up, blinking to adjust his vision. Haruka and Rei were stirring as well, and they all turned towards the duo- Makoto wincing as he held his stomach and lay on the beach while Byakuya looked like she was going to have a breakdown.

"Why is Makoto-senpai...?" Rei trailed off, sweatdropping as he stared at the sight before him.

"Did you actually kill him, Bya-kun?!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"I didn't mean to!" She replied, her voice almost hysteric.

"He's not dying." Haruka said exasperatedly. Really, these guys overreacted over the littlest things...

"But I-"

A hand that suddenly clamped over her mouth stopped Byakuya before she could continue her tirade. Makoto had finally managed to sit up, though he seemed to be wincing from the effort. He was smiling- rather painfully- at her as he spoke, his hand never leaving her mouth.

"You... really need to calm down." He winked, his voice amused behind the strain. Byakuya flushed as she nodded once quickly, obeying the command without a single peep of complaint.

"Makoto. Are you okay?" Haruka asked once Makoto was able to sit up properly. The olive-haired boy smiled at his friends.

"Yeah. It was just a hit, don't worry." He reassured.

"I'm sorry!" Byakuya apologized sheepishly. "I just reacted without thinking and-"

"Y-you got that right!"

Kou's amused voice rang out, catching their attentions as they turned towards the source. The girl was holding her hands over her mouth, obviously trying to restrain her laughter. It wasn't really working.

"Gou-chan! How long have you been sitting there?!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"I saw the whole thing!" Kou burst out laughing. "B-Byakuya...chan... she just..." The redhead cut herself off by laughing too much.

"And you didn't do anything?" Rei deadpanned.

"Of course not!" Kou tittered.

The members of the swim club sweatdropped. Their manager was rather sadistic sometimes, wasn't she?

* * *

><p>"A break?" Makoto raised an eyebrow, surprised. He, along with the rest of the Iwatobi swimmers were all dressed in their swimsuits and were standing in front of Kou, not quite believing what the manager was telling them...<p>

"Yep! You all only need to finish up half of your training regimen, and you can take the rest of the day off!" Kou announced happily.

"There's gonna be a catch somewhere, isn't there?" Byakuya asked skeptically.

"You really think I'm that mean, Byakuya-chan?" Kou asked.

"Yes."

"I'll take back my offer."

"You're an amazing manager with the best personality and we all love you and you have the nicest hair and the best clothes and-"

"Suck up." Kou muttered, before focusing back on the matter at hand. "You all seem pretty exhausted, even after that really long nap you had, so I figure I'd go easy on you today."

"You're the best, Gou-"

"But!" Kou added, interrupting Nagisa. "You all need to make up for it tomorrow! You will complete the whole regimen and run an extra three kilometers on land as well."

"And there it is." Byakuya sighed. There was no way Kou was that lenient. Leave it to their manager to keep their asses in shape.

* * *

><p>A quick peek around the area.<p>

No one. Good.

Byakuya took a deep breath and slowly reached into the bag at her side, taking out the novel she had secretly brought along with her and opened it to the page she had stopped at the last time. She had found a relatively empty bench along the beach some distance away from the campsite, and she figured it was the perfect area to relax and read. Were it any other kind of book, she wouldn't have minded reading it back at camp or so, but there was no way in hell she would ever be caught dead reading-

"'PS I Love You'?"

Byakuya gave a small yelp as she fumbled her hold on the book, grasping it close to her chest as she turned around quickly to see who had spoken. Kou was standing there, a perplexed yet amused expression on her face at Byakuya's reaction. The Shion girl felt her face heating up- this was bad. This was very, very bad!

"I- it was- I never-" Byakuya stuttered, not knowing how she was going to explain herself. Kou just gave a small giggle and sat down next to the girl, patting her shoulder in a reassuring manner.

"No need to explain anything, Byakuya-chan." Kou assured. "I'm just surprised that you, of all people, would read something so..."

"Girly? Cheesy? Clichéd?" Byakuya groaned, letting her face fall into her free hand. "I know. It's not like me."

"Still, romance novels?" Kou asked.

"...Don't tell any of the guys, please." Byakuya whimpered, not moving her face from her hands. This was one of her guilty pleasures that not even Makoto or Haruka knew about.

"Don't worry, I won't." Kou reassured.

"What are you even doing here, anyway?" Byakuya mumbled.

"I was just returning from the indoor swimming pool." Kou answered vaguely.

"Oh." Byakuya said, not really bothering to inquire further. They both fell into an awkward silence as they sat facing away from each other. Neither of them really knew what to say about this strange turn of events...

"So..." Kou started awkwardly, gesturing to the book. "...Have you finished it?"

"...Yeah. Read it a few times." Byakuya replied slowly.

"...That book destroyed my life." Kou continued, finally seeing a way to continue the conversation.

"I got depressed." Byakuya confessed.

"I hate the author with a passion." Kou added.

"But I love it too much at the same time." Byakuya responded.

"I know right?!" Kou exclaimed enthusiastically, turning towards the Shion girl. "I love how inspiring it was, but then..."

"Then it just... ended! Just like that!" Byakuya added, her voice just as enthusiastic as the Matsuoka girl's.

"But the ending was perfect!"

"Exactly! And then I don't know what to do anymore!"

"It's just so... so... agh!"

"Agh!" Byakuya agreed, as they both fell back into silence- albeit more comfortable than the last. It would seem that they both had more to say on this topic than they let on...

"...Hey, Kou-chan?" Byakuya called out.

"Yeah?"

"If you tell anyone about this, I will kill you."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Byakuya-chan." Kou laughed. Her friend was rather prideful when it came to upholding her tomboy image, wasn't she?

"...Have you read The Notebook?" Byakuya asked suddenly, her face flushing slightly as she attempted to start a conversation on a topic she had never discussed with anyone else before.

"Oh my go- don't even get me started."

* * *

><p>"Anyone seen Byaku-chan and Gou-chan?" Makoto asked as he and the others returned from their short trip to the grocery store.<p>

"They've been gone since- oh!" Nagisa suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards the path leading back to the beach. "There they are!"

"I wonder where they've been?" Makoto pondered aloud as the two girls made their way towards them. When they came closer...

"Why are your eyes red?" Rei asked as he saw the two girls' puffy eyes.

"WE WEREN'T CRYING!" Kou and Byakuya yelled immediately, glaring at Rei.

"I-I never said you were!" Rei defended, holding his hands up in a placating manner.

"Good!" The two girls responded in unison again, before turning on their heels and stalking off.

"...Did I ask something wrong?" Rei asked nervously as he turned back to his friends.

"Who knows?" Nagisa shrugged, tilting his head to the side at the girls' weird behaviour.

Haru just shut his eyes briefly as he gave a small sigh. Women were so complicated.

* * *

><p>"Hey, everyone!" Nagisa called out cheerfully the next morning as he saw Makoto, Byakuya and Haruka walking towards them. He, along with Rei were already dressed in their tracksuits and were getting ready for the three kilometer run Kou had assigned them to do.<p>

"Good morning." Makoto replied. Both he and Haru were dressed in their own tracksuits as well- the five of them had agreed to do the run before the swimming circuits they had to do that day, and so they had woken up a bit earlier than usual.

"So, I'm guessing we'll be running on the beach the whole time?" Byakuya asked.

"Running along the beach would be more preferable for training stamina." Rei commented. "Due to the additional friction caused by the sand, running the same distance on regular land on the beach would thus result in more energy used."

"Perfect." Makoto nodded. "That's exactly what we need."

"Huhh? Just the beach?" Nagisa complained. "C'mon, you guys! We do that every day! Let's take the jungle path, too!"

"Too troublesome." Haruka said simply, causing Nagisa to cling to his arm in despair.

"Jungle paths?" Byakuya inquired.

"I believe it was mentioned in the brochure for this island." Rei commented. "There are supposed to be paths in the jungle for nature walks and the like."

"The jungles lead up to the higher grounds, right?" Makoto asked, looking towards the forested area of the island. "The sloped paths wouldn't be too bad for training..."

"Exactly!" Nagisa enthused. "We can also hunt for game, drink tree sap, and-"

"Nagisa-kun, let's just stick to running." Rei said- it was more of a statement than a suggestion, though.

"But where's the fun in that?!" Nagisa exclaimed. Haruka didn't wait for the conversation to continue as he started the run, ignoring his friends' protests.

"Haru-chan?!" Nagisa exclaimed. Makoto just patted Nagisa's shoulder reassuringly.

"We'll take the jungle paths, alright? Just... no hunting or drinking tree sap or anything." Makoto added sheepishly.

"You guys are no fun!"

* * *

><p>"Hey! Check that out!" Byakuya exclaimed, pointing at a colourful bird sitting on a branch in the distance. The five of them were currently on the forest paths, and were all admiring the wildlife in the tropical jungle.<p>

"It's pretty!" Nagisa's eyes glittered as he admired the various colours of the bird's feathers.

"It's a Fairy Pitta." Rei stated, adjusting his glasses as he gazed at the bird. "You can identify it by its multicoloured feathers- it's also known as the seven-coloured bird."

"You can tell just like that?" Makoto asked, impressed.

"It's supposed to be a more threatened species." Rei explained, puffing up at the senior's praise. "And one of its main breeding grounds is Japan-"

"Rei-chan is amazingly smart!" Nagisa interrupted cheerily, latching onto Rei's arm. "But even though he's a nerd, lots of girls in class have a crush on him."

"Nerd?!" Rei exclaimed, his brow twitching.

"Oh? In that case, I could probably make a fortune if I offer to sell them pictures of him in his swimsuit..." Byakuya mused.

"You wouldn't dare-"

"Do you have any pictures from that day at the swimsuit store?" Nagisa asked immediately, cutting Rei off.

"Of course not. I had no idea I could make any money off of them back then."

"Huh? What a wasted opportunity..."

"Are you guys even listening?!"

Suddenly, a rustling sound caught Haru's attention, and he spun around, immediately alert.

"What was that?" He asked, his voice serious.

"What was what, Haru?" Makoto asked. The other three had stopped bickering as well, all watching and listening for whatever it was Haruka was talking about.

"That sound... there!" Haruka pointed out when he heard the rustling sound once more. It was louder this time, and was definitely closer than before. Makoto immediately cringed behind Haruka- what could possibly be approaching that made such a commotion?

"Th-there aren't any wild animals on this island, are there?" Makoto asked nervously.

"They're not common, but-" Rei cut himself off when a loud 'thump' was heard, followed by a furious growl as the rustling grew more frantic.

That did it.

"RUN!" Byakuya yelled, sprinting back towards the beach. The others didn't hesitate to follow suit, all running for their lives. They didn't wait around to find out what it was that had made the noise- what was important was getting out of there alive and leaving behind whatever monstrous creature that was in that forest.

Just then, right where the Iwatobi bunch had been previously standing, Nitori and Rin emerged from the foliage. The grey-haired boy was almost tearful as he apologized over and over to the Matsuoka boy, who was picking out dried leaves from his hair as he scowled at the younger boy.

"I'm so sorry, senpai!" Nitori cried apologetically. "I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I swear I never meant to trip you-"

"Nitori!" Rin barked, silencing the boy immediately. "Shut. Up. I heard your apologies the last 20 times already."

"But senpai-"

"Let's get back to the damn nature walk already." Rin grumbled, pulling his cap back onto his head. He wouldn't even be doing this dumb activity if his captain hadn't insisted that he take a short 'time out' from training. He wasn't a big fan of nature, but apparently Nitori was totally nuts about the whole thing.

"A-alright..." Nitori responded uncertainly, before he suddenly perked up. The boy's light blue eyes sparkled as he suddenly leapt forth, pointing eagerly into the distance.

"Look! It's a Fairy Pitta! Isn't it amazing? Look at those feathers!" Nitori gushed.

Rin just sighed and checked his watch. This was boring... couldn't something interesting just happen already?

* * *

><p>"Shion-senpai!"<p>

Byakuya started for a moment when someone called her name, turning around briefly to face the source of the voice. Nitori was making his way towards her, an eager smile on his face.

"Ah, Nitori-kun!" Byakuya greeted, a smile appearing on her own face. Vaguely, she was aware of her currently mussed and tousled hair- she was just returning from her shower, and hadn't brushed out her hair yet.

"It's good to see you again, senpai!" Aiichirou responded politely. "I wasn't expecting you to have a training camp here, as well. I would have informed you about our being here if I had known..."

"It's fine, it's fine." Byakuya waved it off nonchalantly. "The camp was more of a last-minute thing for us, so there's no way you would have known."

"Even so, I'm glad to see you here, senpai!" Nitori said happily. "How is your training going so far?"

"Exhausting." Byakuya laughed. "Let me tell you, I've developed a new appreciation for island-hopping via boat."

"Well, it's a very effective regimen, though." Nitori mused. "Fighting against the ocean currents as well as the distance is a good way to train your stamina and strength."

"Yeah, I can already tell I'm gonna be a kickass swimmer when I get back, eh?" Byakuya joked, flexing her biceps for fun. Nitori gave a small chuckle at that.

"Anyway, what brings you here, Nitori-kun?" Byakuya asked. "We don't normally see you Samezuka folks down at the beach."

"Eh?" Nitori exclaimed in surprised. "But Matsuoka-senpai jogs on the beach every morning."

"He does?" Byakuya started. "He must've found some way to avoid us..."

The girl gritted her teeth and forced back the small sadness that came with that thought, forcing a smile back onto her face. "Anyway, that's not important. How about you, Nitori-kun?"

"Ah, I just thought I'd come and see you once while we're here." Nitori replied graciously. "I don't get much free time during training, so now that I do I thought I'd just come and say hello."

"Giving up your free time just to say hi? You're too nice." Byakuya grinned at the boy. "Thanks."

"No, it's the polite thing to do." Nitori replied. "Besides, I don't mind your company, Shion-senpai. You're a nice person."

"Haven't we gone over this before?" Byakuya chuckled. "I'm telling yo- I can be a terrible person."

"Everyone has their bad side." Nitori replied. "But everyone has good in them, too."

"...Woah. That was... wise." Byakuya mused. Leave it to Nitori to see the good in people- Rin didn't know just how lucky he was to have the kid looking out for him. Not many people could see past the coldness of his personality to the good in him.

"It's just a simple fact." Nitori responded humbly.

"Even so... You're a good guy, Nitori-kun. Not half bad." Byakuya commented smilingly, ruffling his hair playfully. The boy seemed a bit surprised at the compliment, but smiled eagerly back at Byakuya.

"Thank you, senpai!" He thanked sincerely. Praise wasn't something that came by often for the lavender-haired boy, so he really appreciated it.

"Byaku-chan?"

Makoto's voice suddenly called out, prompting Byakuya to turn around. The olive-haired boy was walking towards her as well, followed by Haruka.

"Ah, Makoto. Haru-kun." Byakuya greeted, gesturing to Nitori. "You all remember Nitori-kun?"

"Ah, that's right. It's nice to meet you again, Nitori-san." Makoto nodded politely. Haruka merely inclined his head.

"Ah, same to you too, Tachibana-san. Nanase-san. " Nitori responded, bowing politely. His tone was a bit hesitant, though- the Tachibana boy seemed to be scrutinizing him rather closely... it made him a bit puzzled.

"I don't mean to intrude, but Byaku-chan, it's going to be time for dinner soon." Makoto continued, turning towards the girl. He frowned slightly as he took note of her messy hair, and patted her head. "And you still haven't brushed your hair... it'll get tangled, you know."

"I know, I know." Byakuya laughed sheepishly, removing Makoto's hand from her head. "I'll brush it out soon. I kinda lost track of time."

"I won't keep you any longer then, Shion-senpai." Nitori said politely. "Thank you for your time, it was nice to talk to you again."

"So soon?" Byakuya lamented, a hint of disappointment in her voice. The boy wasn't bad company. "Ah well... See you around, Nitori-kun."

"Right. Tachibana-san, Nanase-san- It was nice to meet you again." Nitori bowed once more before making his way back towards his current residence.

"He seems nice." Makoto commented idly once Nitori was out of sight and they continued walking back to their campsite.

"He is." Byakuya responded, tugging at a strand of her hair and wincing. "Okay, maybe I should have brushed it out first. Ouch."

"You can use my brush." Makoto offered, handing his brush to the girl, who gratefully accepted it with a small "thank you". As Byakuya busied herself with untangling her hair, Haruka shot Makoto a brief glance.

"Dinner doesn't start for at least another hour." He pointed out casually, keeping his voice low so that Byakuya wouldn't hear him.

"...I know." Makoto responded, his tone sheepish.

"You didn't tell her we were waiting for her outside." Haruka added.

"I know." Makoto repeated. He knew what Haru was getting at- they had witnessed Byakuya's whole interaction with Nitori; wanting to give her time with her friend before heading back to camp. The original plan had been to let her take her time, but when Byakuya had patted Nitori's head, and the way they both seemed to get along... something inside Makoto had just spurred him to interrupt them. He didn't understand- he never had this problem when Byakuya hung around Haru or any of the other guys. Except maybe that one time when Nagisa had hugged her, but that had been because...

"You were jealous." Haruka stated simply, as if reading Makoto's thoughts.

"...Yes." Makoto admitted. He wasn't proud of it, but still... he couldn't help bit get defensive- especially after Byakuya had called Nitori "cute".

This crush really was ruining him.

* * *

><p>Early one morning, Byakuya awoke slowly as she sat up in her sleeping bag. She yawned again as she stretched her arms, blearily glancing at her two tentmates the previous night. Nagisa and Rei were sleeping peacefully- the latter sleeping with the same prim and perfect expression as he did when he was awake. Perfect form, even in sleep...<p>

Byakuya had a stroke of inspiration just then, and she carefully leaned forth to reach for her backpack. She fished around in it for a while before she found the items she wanted and a sly grin crossed her features. Perfect.

"Hey." Byakuya whispered, keeping her voice as soft as she could while she gently shook Nagisa's shoulder. "Hey, Nagi-kun."

"Wha-?" Nagisa mumbled, turning over to face Byakuya, who quickly put a hand over the boy's mouth.

"Shh!" The girls hushed, glancing back over at the Ryugazaki boy. "Rei-kun's still sleeping... good."

"What're you-" Nagisa cut himself off when Byakuya raised the items in her hand. His own eyes widened briefly in surprise before a grin broke out across his face, pink eyes meeting brown in mischievous understanding.

"Mmhm." Byakuya hummed.

"You're a genius, Bya-kun." Nagisa said cheekily, taking one of the marker pens Byakuya was holding.

"Thank you." The girl replied graciously, before the two of them uncapped their markers at the same time. Hoo boy, this was going to be fun...

* * *

><p>"'Morning, everyone." Byakuya called as she neared the picnic table. The dark-haired girl was already dressed in her swimsuit, along with Nagisa as well. "Hey, Kou-chan, I know this is sudden, but could we borrow your camera for a bit?"<p>

"Hm? Sure." Kou replied, handing the device to them.

"Why did you two get changed so early?" Makoto inquired.

"That's a secret~" Nagisa winked slyly.

"You'll see in a bit." Byakuya smirked, heading back towards the campsite with Nagisa, leaving the others all stared perplexedly after them.

"They're planning something." Makoto commented suspiciously. Haru just kept silent, eating his breakfast as though nothing had happened.

"What could they possibly-"

"NAGISA-KUN! BYAKUYA-SENPAI!"

The loud, incredulous voice of Rei Ryugazaki rang out over the beach, audible even to the rest of the Iwatobi Swim Club as they sat at the picnic tables that morning. Kou cut herself off immediately, her eyebrows raising at Rei's loud yell.

"Was that Ryugazaki-san?" Miss Amakata asked curiously as she leaned forth to get a better look at the camp site. The others followed her inquisitive gaze as well, wondering what the commotion could be about.

Just then, the two forms of Byakuya and Nagisa came rushing out of the tents- the two of them scrambling out as fast as they could before they ran like crazy.

"Run faster, Bya-kun!" Nagisa called out, laughter in his voice.

"Oh shi- I forgot he used to be on the track team!" Byakuya yelled back, her voice rising in urgency as Rei started to exit the tent as well- the others were too far away to see the expression on his face.

"Thanks for the camera, Kou-chan!" Byakuya yelled as she practically threw the camera back at Kou. Thankfully, Kou was able to catch it.

"Into the ocean, quick!" Nagisa cried, changing his course as ran towards the ocean.

"Already on it!" Byakuya replied, following after Nagisa.

The others sweatdropped as the two teens dove into the sea, swimming as fast as they could away from the furious Ryugazaki boy, who was yelling at them as he stood at the edge of the ocean.

"What did they do this time?" Kou wondered curiously. As if in response to her question, Rei's shoulders slumped in defeat before he grudgingly made his way towards the picnic table, allowing the group to get a better look at his face, which was...

"R-Rei?" Makoto stuttered out, surprise and a hint of amusement lacing his voice.

The bluenette's face was covered in drawings- clearly made by coloured markers. There was a drawing of a rose angled in such a way that it seemed like he was holding it horizontally between his teeth, and the words 'Butterfly-chan' written across his forehead; a small butterfly drawn at the end to emphasize the point.

"...Makoto-senpai. Haruka-senpai. Gou-san. Amakata-sensei." Rei greeted stiffly, bowing in acknowledgement. He was still clearly upset, but was trying his best to restrain his obvious discomfort.

"Those two did that to you?" Miho asked in surprise. She had known those two were rather playful, but this...

She would be lying if she said she didn't feel like laughing, but she had to retain a straight face- he was her student, after all.

"Yes." Rei replied, his voice begrudging. "I suppose it will come off in the shower."

"Unless they used permanent marker again." Haru added simply, taking another bite of his breakfast.

"Permanent marker?!" Rei exclaimed.

"'Again?'" Kou added confusedly. No one made a move to answer that one question, though...

In the end, with the help of lots of makeup remover- courtesy of Miss Amakata-, sanitizer and soap, they managed to clear up the markings on Rei's face. However, Nagisa and Byakuya made it a point to complete the circuits on their own that day and avoid Rei up until dinnertime. Hopefully, he would have calmed down by then.

He didn't.

Byakuya and Nagisa made sure to sleep with one eye open that night. And to throw all their markers into the bin furthest from the beach.

* * *

><p>Byakuya sat by the beach with her legs outstretched, her hair down as the sea breeze blew it away from her face. It was sunset, and the sky was cast into hundreds of colours, like an artist's palette. The sun looked like it was setting into the ocean, and provided a beautiful scenery to anyone who would care to stop and look. Byakuya's face was passive as she stared at the sight, an expression not usually worn by the expressive girl.<p>

"What are you thinking about?" Makoto's voice rang out quietly as he made his way towards the girl, sitting himself next to her on the sand.

"Nothing. Just enjoying the view." Byakuya replied.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Makoto asked, a small smile on his lips. Byakuya nodded in agreement.

"But it's strange." Byakuya commented idly. "Sunsets always seem more beautiful when you're sad."

"Is that how you're feeling?" Makoto asked, turning towards the girl.

"Not now, no." Byakuya reassured. "I'm having the time of my life with you guys..."

"So why the serious face?" Makoto asked.

"...I wonder how beautiful the sunset is to Rin-kun." Byakuya admitted quietly.

"You really are worried for him, aren't you?" Makoto stated, his forest-green eyes gentle.

"Of course." Byakuya responded. "Rin-kun... he's the one who brought us all together. He's our friend. That relay you guys swam together all those years ago... you were all amazing."

"And...?" Makoto asked, prompting the girl to continue. He knew it just didn't end there.

"...I truly wish I could have swam with you." Byakuya murmured. "I still do, but I can't. Yet even so... I'm happy. Happy with the fact that I can just be with you all- Rei-kun, too. I just wish Rin-kun could be here with us as well."

"Byaku-chan..."

"I'm sorry. I'm being a total sap, I know." Byakuya scoffed.

"Well, if you ask me, I like having a sappy Byakuya." Makoto commented kindly. "I like to hear what's on your mind."

"...Don't expect me to start getting corny or anything; mind you."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Makoto laughed. The two of them sat there for a while, not speaking or moving as they gazed into the distant sun.

"...Would you like to walk with me for a bit, Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Byakuya started.

"Just a bit of sightseeing. Are you up for it?" Makoto repeated, his smile never leaving his face.

"...Sure. I don't see why not." Byakuya said, trying to sound nonchalant. The olive-haired boy just gave a small laugh as he stood, offering a hand to Byakuya.

"I can stand up on my own." She said petulantly, standing up by herself.

"I know." Makoto responded, his hand still outstretched as he shot her a gentle smile. "I'd just like to hold your hand again, if you wouldn't mind."

That made Byakuya blush. She recalled all too well that night on Sukishima after the incident in the lighthouse, and how he had held her hand. Now that he was asking to do the same again- for seemingly no particular reason whatsoever-she was starting to wonder if Makoto could possibly reciprocate her feelings...

"...Only because you asked." Byakuya muttered, turning her head away as she placed her hand in Makoto's. The boy just laughed as he continued walking alongside her by the beach, somewhat glad that Byakuya had consented to his request. The two of them just continued on that way, making idle conversation and the occasional jibe. It was a rather new development for the two of them, and yet... it wasn't quite unfamiliar, either.

* * *

><p>"A campfire?" Haruka asked, raising an eyebrow at what he was seeing. Kou was standing with her hands on her hips in a triumphant fashion, a bonfire burning behind her and giving the girl an almost surreal look. It was evening, and right after they had all finished changing out of their swimsuits for the day, they had come back to this.<p>

"Why a campfire?" Byakuya asked.

"We're on an island!" Kou justified enthusiastically. "Campfires are supposed to round it all up! It's not a camping trip without a campfire!"

"That's right!" Nagisa added cheerfully. "We're supposed to tell scary stories, sing songs, and play all sorts of games!

"That's not a bad idea." Makoto said approvingly. He definitely didn't mind spending more bonding time with his friends.

"It sounds fine." Rei added. "But what will we be cooking?"

"Always knew you had your priorities straight, Rei-kun." Byakuya grinned teasingly.

"We'll be eating the pizza Coach Sasabe gave us." Kou informed. "But we also managed to pick up some marshmallows from the store!

"Great! Now we can roast marshmallows while telling ghost stories!" Nagisa cheered.

"Ghost stories first?" Rei asked.

"Better now than later, I guess." Makoto chuckled sheepishly. "I'd never get to sleep if we left that for last."

"Well, who starts first?" Kou asked as they all took their places around the campfire. She sat in between Byakuya and Rei, and graciously handed out long sticks they could use to roast their marshmallows.

"I got one!" Nagisa announced, rubbing his hands eagerly. The others all nodded as he announced that, listening intently while they ate.

"If there's one thing you should never do, it's to look up into trees at night. Do you know why?" Nagisa asked, his voice low and mysterious.

"N-no?" Rei answered nervously, swallowing his pizza.

"Because...You might find a face or head staring back at you!" Nagisa yelled, making several of them jump slightly. Byakuya wisely ate her marshmallow and decided not to eat until after the story was finished. Nagisa continued his story in an eerily dark voice.

"And the worst thing you could do is point at anything strange." Nagisa warned. "There was once a guy who was walking home one night with his friends from a party. They were laughing and chatting as they made their way through a park on their way back, when one of them made the mistake. He shone his light into a tree... and that was when he saw it!"

Nagisa raised his voice towards the end, successfully making Makoto yelp and clutch onto Haru's arm. Rei remained relatively calm as he adjusted his glasses, though his hands were shaking. Haru just looked intrigued at Nagisa's tale, prompting him to continue.

"It was a gruesome sight!" Nagisa continued darkly. "A decapitated head- long entrails hanging out from where its neck should have been. Blank, baleful eyes that seemed to look straight at him. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst was that it was grinning at him- a gleeful, hungry grin before it opened its mouth and-"

"Hey! Look at that! Can you see that?!" Kou exclaimed suddenly, pointing upwards.

Everyone screamed and dropped whatever they were holding. Even though Haru remained silent, he paled so much he looked almost white. Rei and Nagisa were clutching onto each other as they screamed, squeezing their eyes shut as they awaited whatever doom awaited them. Makoto had practically jumped behind Haru, dragging Byakuya with him. None of them dared to look at where Kou was pointing... why was she still pointing?!

"Stop pointing at the tree!" Byakuya yelled frantically. "Dammit, put your hand d-"

"For goodness sake, you bunch of babies!" Kou cried indignantly, glaring at the so-called swim team. "I was pointing at a shooting star!"

That got them to stop screaming. They all ducked their heads embarrassedly as they met each other's gazes.

"I think it's best to finish dinner before we continue." Haruka stated calmly, the colour returning to his face as he nudged his fallen pizza with a foot.

"Y-yes." Byakuya agreed, shaking herself out of her stupor. "That's a good idea."

"Let's not do this again." Rei suggested. Everyone murmured their agreement- though Nagisa seemed a bit reluctant.

"You're all wimps." Kou scoffed, eating her marshmallow as she giggled.

...They couldn't argue her statement.

* * *

><p>"So that's how you play 'Never Have I Ever'!" Kou announced after explaining the rules of the game. "Of course, most people would use alcohol, but we're not into that sort of stuff..." Kou giggled sheepishly.<p>

"You got two bottles of apple juice just for this?" Byakuya asked, gesturing to the bottles by Kou's side. "How long do you think this game is gonna go on?"

"As long as possible!" Kou announced determinedly. "This is our last night here, so make it count!"

"Alright!" Nagisa announced. "Fill up your cups, everyone! Rei-chan will go first!"

"Why me?!" Rei exclaimed indignantly.

"Because-"

"I know, I know." Rei sighed, interrupting Nagisa. "Because I'm Rei-chan."

"Atta boy, Butterfly-chan!" Byakuya cheered.

"Very well..." Rei thought for a while before he continued. "Never have I ever... broken a promise."

For a moment, no one made a move to drink from their cups. But then suddenly, Byakuya and Kou both reached out to drink their juice.

"S-seriously?" Rei asked, surprised. Only the two girls?

"I once promised my brother that I would return his pen after I used it." Byakuya laughed sheepishly. "I lost it and never told him."

"At least yours was a minor thing." Kou grumbled. "I accidentally gave away my friend's secret once and she never spoke to me again."

"Ouch." Makoto commented sympathetically.

"Alright, I'm next!" Nagisa announced. "Never have I ever cheated on a test!"

Once more, Byakuya reached for her cup. However, what no one was expecting was for Makoto and Haruka to do the same.

"You three didn't happen to cheat at the same time, did you?" Kou asked suspiciously.

"It was in middle school." Haruka answered simply.

"The teachers never caught on." Makoto laughed sheepishly. It wasn't something he was proud of, but that pop quiz had been really tough.

"All for one, one for all and all that." Byakuya laughed, refilling her cup.

"Haru-chan! Your turn!" Nagisa said, pointing at the raven-haired boy. Haruka thought about it for a moment before he spoke.

"Never have I ever gotten tired of eating mackerel." And he took a drink from his cup immediately.

"You didn't even wait to see if anyone else would take a drink..." Rei deadpanned.

"I think he knew the answer before he even finished asking that question." Kou added.

"My turn, then." Makoto said. "Never have I ever... physically harmed another person on purpose."

"Dammit." Byakuya cursed laughingly as she took another drink from her cup. This time, Kou and Rei followed after her.

"You two?" Makoto exclaimed in surprise.

"The same friend whose secret I accidentally leaked." Kou admitted sheepishly. "It was a cat fight."

"I once fought with my older brother over something trivial." Rei admitted. "But we made peace after that."

"You all know how I got to Miyazaki in grade school." Byakuya shrugged. "Anyway, my turn... never have I ever abused an animal."

Thankfully, no one reached for their drinks.

"Heh. Good. I would've added another person to my 'list of people I have physically harmed on purpose'." Byakuya jabbed playfully as she finished her drink once again.

"You've drunk more than anyone else so far." Makoto teased.

"At least it's not alcohol!" Nagisa added. "Bya-kun would be a terrible drunk."

"I would not!"

"You probably would, senpai."

"Rei-kun, you suck."

"Anyway, Gou-chan, it's your turn." Makoto said, looking at the Matsuoka girl.

"Right!" Kou nodded, pondering the question. "Never have I ever... had a crush on a teacher."

"Who would have a crush on their-"

However, Rei cut himself off when he saw Nagisa, Haruka and Byakuya all take a drink from their cups. He blanched.

"F-for real?" Makoto stuttered out, not quite believing what he was witnessing. Both Byakuya and Nagisa flushed, while Haru just remained passive.

"...Remember Harada-sensei? Our PE teacher in middle school?" Byakuya mumbled.

"Harada-sensei? The one all the other girls were crazy for?" Makoto exclaimed. "You said you hated him!"

"I lied." Byakuya admitted.

"Bya-kun, don't freak out, but I thought your mom was pretty." Nagisa laughed nervously.

"What?!"

"I said don't freak out!"

"How about Haruka-senpai?" Rei asked curiously.

"The water is my teacher." He responded simply, an almost dreamy expression back on his face. The others all sighed again.

"Anyway, it's back to you, Rei-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"Alright..." Rei mused. "Never have I ever wished I was anyone else but me."

"That was deep." Makoto commented, his expression thoughtful. After a moment of hesitation, Byakuya and Nagisa downed their drinks.

"Confidence issues. It's rife." Byakuya joked half-heartedly.

"I used to wish I was more like Haru-chan." Nagisa confessed, turning towards Haruka as he quickly reassured. "I wanted to be able to swim like you. But then, when I joined the relay... I saw that I was important just the way I am! If I didn't swim the way I did, I wouldn't have been able to join you guys. So it's all okay now!"

Haruka looked somewhat startled at the confession, and he silently stared at Nagisa. In actuality, he was relieved. He was glad that his friend had realized his own self worth- Nagisa was a wonderful person, and he was fine just the way he was. The others all gave a small smile at the blonde's confession as well, feeling a warmth in their hearts at the boy's words.

"...I always wished I had been born a boy." Byakuya confessed quietly, turning her gaze to the sky. She'd said it almost nonchalantly, but there was still an undertone of longing in her voice. "Y'know, the usual reasons. Being able to climb trees better, being taller, getting to wear pants all day instead of skirts with my uniform..."

"Yeah. That sounds like something you would wish for." Kou joked. Byakuya gave a laugh at that, the others joining in as well. However, it didn't escape Haru nor Makoto's attention that Byakuya seemed to be holding back with that statement- they could tell by the way she averted her gaze and seemed to tense up slightly. It was subtle move they'd learned to decode from all their years together, but neither of them made a move to push Byakuya into spilling the beans.

"Besides, it's a good thing you're a girl- or else Mako-chan wouldn't be able to date you!" Nagisa added cheerfully. That was enough to break any tension in the atmosphere.

"O-oi. Don't say such weird things." Byakuya muttered, her face flushing. Makoto just blanched at the boy's directness.

"As for my turn..." Nagisa continued, ignoring his friends' embarrassment. "Never have I ever had my first official kiss!"

There was a moment of utter silence. No one reached for their cups, and they were all flushing at their indirect admittance. Haru was the only one who seemed nonchalant about the whole thing.

"That's great!" Nagisa laughed suddenly. "So now we have something in common!"

"That's not much of a good thing to have in common, Nagisa-kun." Rei deadpanned.

"17 and still dateless." Byakuya sighed. "This really shouldn't bother me this much."

"But don't you see?" Nagisa insisted. "This'll be fun! Now, if any of us ever have our first kiss, we have to let each other know, okay?"

"Ehh?!" Kou exclaimed. "But that sort of thing is supposed to be personal!"

"No secrets among friends~" Nagisa sang. "So it's settled! We'll all promise to tell each other if we have our first kiss!"

"Don't just go announcing promises on our behalf!" Kou protested. Nagisa just ignored her as he finished his juice. Makoto just fidgeted slightly, shooting an occasional glance at Byakuya. If he was completely honest, he was somewhat relieved that she hadn't gotten her first kiss, either...

"Your turn again, Haru-chan!" He said happily. The raven-haired teen was silent for a moment as he thought seriously over what he was going to say.

"Alright." Haruka complied. "Never have I ever... eaten a taco."

"You've never eaten a taco?!" Byakuya exclaimed, horrified.

"Neither have I." Rei admitted, taking a drink from his cup.

"Me neither." Kou added, also reaching for her juice.

"You've never lived!" Byakuya declared. "That's it, once we're back home, we're all getting tacos."

"But there's no place that sells tacos in town." Nagisa said.

"Then we'll make some!" Byakuya decided. "We'll get the ingredients and take them over to Haru-kun's place to make them!"

"Who said that you could use my house again?" Haruka deadpanned.

"Don't be a party pooper, Haru-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed. "It sounds like fun!"

"I wouldn't mind." Rei added. "It would be interesting."

"It's a date, then!" Kou cheered enthusiastically.

"Don't let Mikoshiba-san hear that, Kou-chan." Byakuya teased.

"What are you implying?" Kou asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Looks like we're all set, Haru." Makoto joked lightly as the others conversed around them. Haru just looked away in annoyance.

However, he had to admit... he was looking forward to this.

* * *

><p>"You know..." Nagisa sang cheekily as he leaned closer to Rei, who shifted uncomfortably at Nagisa's sudden proximity.<p>

"What?" He asked nervously.

"We don't really know all that much about you, Rei-chan." Nagisa finished, grinning at the bespectacled boy.

"Yeah." Kou added. "I didn't even know Rei-kun had a brother before this."

"Nagisa has a point." Makoto mused. "How's about we take turns telling each other things about ourselves?"

"It sounds good." Byakuya agreed. Haruka gave a small nod in agreement, and they all turned back to stare at Rei.

"But what do I say?" Rei asked.

"Regular things!" Nagisa suggested. "Like... your family, your hobbies, favourite food... normal stuff!

"If you insist..." He sighed. It was always him who went first...

"I come from a regular family." Rei said. "Both my parents are alive and well, and I also have an older brother. He used to be on the track team."

"Is that why you joined track?" Makoto inquired.

"It was a contributing factor." Rei responded. "I like reading, pole-vaulting, running and calculating. My preferred subjects are Chemistry and Maths, while I dislike Art and Music. I also like eating sushi."

"I guessed you'd be more of a 'traditional foods' kind of guy." Byakuya commented. "But what about your glasses thing?"

"'Glasses thing'?" Rei repeated confusedly.

"Y'know..." Byakuya mimicked Rei's way of adjusting his glasses, her hand stretched out horizontally across her face. "That. Any reason for that?"

"Oh." Rei paused in realization, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "I don't actually have a reason for that. It is simply habitual."

"Hm. Well, at least it fits the 'cool guy' look you have going for you." Byakuya shrugged. The bluenette looked somewhat perplexed and flustered at that.

"I would have thought you were more of the type who's into music and the arts, though." Kou commented curiously.

"I never had much talent for either." Rei admitted sheepishly.

"But that was good, Rei-chan!" Nagisa encouraged. "We know a lot more about you now!"

"Right, I think I'll go next." Makoto volunteered. "Along with my parents, I also have a younger brother and sister- fraternal twins."

"Little monsters." Byakuya added jokingly.

"They're not that bad- just lively." Makoto laughed. "I like physical activity and manual labour, and my favourite foods are green curry and chocolate. In school, my favourite subject is Literature, and I'm bad at English and Art. I've known Haru for as long as I can remember- since before kindergarden, actually. I'm also pretty scared of the dark."

"The dark?" Rei inquired. That was surprising- with his stature, he never would have guessed that Makoto would be afraid of something as trivial as the dark.

"Yeah." Makoto admitted. "I'm a bit superstitious- ghosts and all that."

"You hang around Byakuya-chan, and you say the dark scares you?" Kou asked.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Byakuya exclaimed.

"Exactly what you think it means." Haruka said simply.

"Nice to know you've got my back, Haru-kun." Byakuya deadpanned. "Tell you what, you go next."

"Very well." Haruka replied evenly. "I am an only child, whereas both my parents are rather involved in their work. I enjoy eating mackerel."

"We all knew that." Nagisa laughed.

"I believe all your decisions centre around mackerel, Haruka-senpai." Rei added.

"Don't forget swimming." Kou added good-naturedly.

"I like doing chores and cooking." Haruka continued, ignoring the comments. "My best subjects are Home Economics and Art, while English is my weakest."

"Doing chores and cooking..." Byakuya mused. "You'd make a good housewife."

"I have no intention of becoming so." Haruka responded simply, though he shot Byakuya a vaguely annoyed look.

"Anyway, Gou-chan," Makoto addressed the redheaded girl. "Would you like to go next?"

"Ah, okay!" The girl responded eagerly. "Well... My dad passed away a long time ago, and I don't really remember much about him. My mom works in an office, and you all know my brother. My hobbies include reading and looking at muscles!"

The girl squealed at the last part, making them all sweatdrop.

"Does that count as a hobby?" Nagisa asked.

"Th-there's nothing that says it doesn't..." Makoto trailed off uncertainly.

"It does too count!" Kou defended. "Now, my favourite food... I like all the snacks they normally sell at festivals, but I'd have to say candy apples are my favourite. My best subject is English and History, while my worst is Chemistry."

"I support the candy apples bit." Byakuya mused. "Been a while since I had one..."

"We could always go to the next festival and get some then!" Kou suggested.

"Sounds like a plan. Buy 'em out?" Byakuya smirked.

"Definitely!" Kou giggled, high-fiving Byakuya.

"I'm next!" Nagisa announced. "I have a dad, but he isn't home very often. My mom passed away after giving birth to me, and I have three older sisters. My sisters take care of me and all, but they can be really mean. They used to dress me up in girl clothes and put makeup on me."

"They replaced your swim trunks with a girl's swimsuit on your first day of swim club, right?" Makoto said.

"They did that?!" Kou exclaimed, shocked.

"Yeah, but Haru-chan got me out of it by lending me his!" Nagisa replied.

"Coach Shion had to get all the kids to stop laughing at Haru when he wore that swimsuit, though." Makoto added.

"Haruka-senpai... in a girl's swimsuit?" Rei deadpanned. It was an... interesting mental image.

"Spending one day with those girls was enough to traumatize me for life. Having to live with them..." Byakuya shuddered. "You're a brave soul, Nagi-kun."

"They're family." Nagisa shrugged smilingly. "Now where was I... ah! So, my favourite subject is History, and I'm really bad with Maths. I like history, all sorts of insects, horror movies and thrill rides! Ooh, and I also like eating strawberry ice cream and strawberry cake, but my absolute favourite is strawberry shortcake!"

"You're a big fan of strawberries." Rei sweatdropped.

"Insects...?" Kou added, also sweatdropping.

"I like all sorts of sweet things!" Nagisa gushed, oblivious to his friends' disbelief. "But I really don't like Math, onions and peppers. They taste weird."

"Aren't you worried about getting diabetes one of these days?" Byakuya commented.

"Of course not!" Nagisa protested, flexing his arms. "I stay in shape all the time! Look at these guns!"

"You don't have any." Haruka deadpanned.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa whined. The stoic teen just looked the other way.

"Okay, Byakuya-chan!" Kou announced. "You're the last one!"

"Right. So, where to start..." Byakuya mused, rubbing her hands together as she thought about it. "Well, I have an older brother, and my mom passed away when I was 12. Never knew my dad- car accident."

"Your brother's the one who gave me that weird nickname, right?" Rei asked.

"Yep. If it makes you feel any better, he calles me 'Turtle'. And his girlfriend is 'Deer'." Byakuya shrugged.

"You mean 'Dear'?" Kou corrected.

"Nope. I mean the animal." Byakuya replied.

"...He sounds most peculiar." Rei sweatdropped.

"He is." Byakuya responded seriously. "Anyway, back to the topic... I am terrible at most subjects that aren't Biology or English, and I like eating noodles. My hobbies include reading and sleeping, and I don't like work. And... I'm scared of rats because of a movie I watched as a kid."

"I knew it!" Nagisa exclaimed victoriously.

"Shut up. I can drown you and make it look like an accident." Byakuya muttered, playfully shoving Nagisa. "And well, that's all I have to say."

"... I think this was a good session." Makoto said after a few beats of silence. "I feel a lot closer to you guys now."

"Indeed." Rei agreed, a small smile on his lips. It may have started out awkward, but in the end this whole bonding thing was alright.

"...You know the perfect way to end this campfire?" Nagisa suggested cheekily.

"Hm?" Byakuya raised a brow, munching on a leftover marshmallow.

"Singing, of course!" Nagisa exclaimed. "C'mon, you guys! Let's all sing together!"

"I'd rather not." Haruka said simply.

"C'mon, Haru-kun!" Byakuya insisted enthusiastically. "Just let out your inner rockstar!"

"I don't have one." Haruka responded.

"Fine. Smooth jazz, pop idol, whatever. Just go with it." Byakuya shrugged.

"What song should we go with?" Kou asked eagerly.

"Ooh, how about that traditional campfire one, what's it called... Kum Ba Yah?" Nagisa suggested.

"Really? That's so clichéd! How about that one song that recently made the top 40 list?" Kou said.

"A modern song around a campfire?" Rei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm okay with it." Makoto conceded smilingly.

"Let's go then!" Nagisa announced.

"For real?!" Rei exclaimed.

"Of course! C'mon, just sing along already!" Byakuya said as Kou started on the first verse of the song.

That night, under the dark and twinkling sky, the six teens of the Iwatobi Swim Club were brought ever closer as they sang and laughed deep into the night. It was a long time before they finally decided to turn in for the day- the five of them walked Kou back to the lodge before returning to their tents. While almost all of them fell asleep immediately, Byakuya lay awake a bit longer, brown eyes gazing into space. She relived the events that had taken place throughout their camp, and a wide smile crossed her face.

'Maybe... this is what freedom feels like.'

With that comforting thought in mind, the Shion girl shut her eyes and allowed herself to drift to sleep. Even if this feeling of peace was fleeting- here today and gone tomorrow- for now, she was happy. That was all that mattered, and that was all she needed.

* * *

><p>AN: Longest chapter everrrr. Almost 9000 words yo. First off, loads and loads of thanks to Savage Kill who really helped out in giving me ideas for this filler! This thing wouldn't be up without your help, buddy! ;D Also, the name 'Harada-sensei' was based off the character from Hakuouki (Think of it as a tribute to SSL coming out, haha!). Also, some of the trivia on the canon cast is based off my own assumptions- not all of it is legit :p<p>

Once more, thanks so much to Kyoichi Amaya, Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, maggikarps and Heavenly Condemned, AmIValid for favouriting and following my profile, and Kiyoshi Kozue for following this fic! Thanks for your support, guys!

See ya next water time!


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

Kou held the timer as she watched Byakuya, Haru and Nagisa make the last turn to complete their 100m lap. It was the first lap they were doing that day, and they were doing quite well so far. Haru was swimming faster than both of his friends, but Kou noticed that the other two had smoothed out their swimming techniques even though they weren't quite as fast. Rei was using the last lane as well- he had already finished his lap earlier, but was still working on his butterfly on his own, without being timed. He was already improving himself, and his hard work only ensured even more advancement.

"How are they doing?" Makoto asked as he watched his friends complete the turn.

"Byakuya-chan's time is improving. Haruka-senpai too." Kou murmured, looking at the timer. "Nagisa-kun's time needs more work, but they're definitely stepping up their game. "

Haru reached the wall first, followed by the other two. The dark-haired girl barely panted now- her endurance was definitely better than when she had started out.

"Amazing, Haruka-senpai! That's another personal best!" Kou said cheerily, comparing the boy's newest time with his last one. "The training camp from hell paid off! Byakuya-chan, you're getting better, too!"

Byakuya sighed, but gave a small smile at that. Really, she regretted all those years of not swimming. All the lost time and potential...

"What about me?" Nagisa asked as he swam over to Haruka's lane. Kou glanced at her clipboard and back at her stopwatch, before shooting Nagisa a sympathetic look.

"You need to work a little harder, Nagisa-kun." She said regretfully. He was improving, but not by much. That didn't mean he wasn't doing well, though.

"Still, I think we've all come a long way in such a short time." Makoto added optimistically. "And Rei's been improving his butterfly time."

"It helps that Rei-kun is pretty built from the pole-vaulting he's done. But!" Kou said suddenly, pointing her index finger in the air dramatically. "That's not good enough! We must aim higher! Find a proper coach!"

"Eh?" Nagisa exclaimed. "Find a coach now?"

"You do realize we only have 5 days left to prefecturals." Byakuya added, somewhat perplexed at what Kou was suggesting.

"It's never too late to start! Even if someone can just help provide some last-minute conditioning, we'll be in better condition for the tournament!" Kou justified, pumping her fist in determination.

"A coach would most definitely help, but there's no one available-"

"That's why we have to look harder!" Kou said aggressively, cutting Makoto off in the middle of his sentence. He raised his hands in a placating manner, hoping not to incur the wrath of the feisty manager. Thankfully, Haru emerged from the pool just then, walking right up to Kou.

"Not necessary." He said simply, before putting his swimming accessories back on and heading towards the starting platform. Makoto just gave a small smile as he and Kou watched Haru walk away.

"Yeah, Haru probably doesn't need a coach." Makoto commented. It was true, Haru was naturally gifted at swimming, and barely needed any help with it. Even during their swim club days, the boy didn't really require much coaching.

As Haru got onto the starting block again, his friends watched on as he dove into the water, starting another lap. Byakuya watched the boy swim through the water, so fast and graceful. Only one thought came to mind as she stared at Haruka.

'...Why can't I swim like that?'

Byakuya took another deep breath before she readjusted her goggles. She couldn't improve by mere wishing- she had to push herself to get it. She dove back in and began a new lap of her own, not really bothering about the time as she strove to increase her speed.

She had to get better- she couldn't fail them. She couldn't.

* * *

><p>"Hey." Byakuya greeted cheerfully, a bright grin on her face. "It's been a long time, hm? Sorry I haven't been visiting; with school and swimming and all that, it's been pretty hectic. I'm here today, though!"<p>

Silence. Byakuya just continued smiling as she chattered on.

"I've improved my time recently! Down to 67 seconds, can you believe it? And I'm studying harder these days, too, so my marks are improving as well! Mr Hasegawa still thinks I'm cheating, though." Byakuya laughed. "But it's all good! I'm happy, and I actually feel really good about prefecturals! I got this!"

There was still no response, simply the sound of birds chirping in the distance and the light rustle of grass as the wind blew by. Byakuya kept grinning for a while as she sat on the ground with her legs crossed, before her smile slowly fell inch-by-inch from her face.

"...I'm sorry." She apologized quietly. "Even after all this time, I'm still a liar. I'm sorry."

Byakuya silently reached out and touched her her mother's gravestone, staring despondently at the small picture of her mom as she sat in front of the headstone. The cemetery was pretty empty right now, but it wasn't particularly eerie because it was early morning. Byakuya only ever came here once or twice a year, as she tried to keep her distance most of the time.

The Shion girl laughed weakly, a pathetic imitation of the genuine thing. "I'm worried, mom. I don't know if I can do this. What if I can't place? I only have one event, and everyone will be counting on me. If I lose... I won't know how to face them. The daughter of an Olympic swimmer, losing in a measly prefecturals race... I'll be a disgrace. To you, to the swim club... to myself."

Byakuya felt the tears stinging her eyes as she finished her sentence, but she didn't let them spill over. There was no point crying over something in front of a cold gravestone that couldn't answer.

Byakuya just sat like that, unmoving as she stared passively at her mother's grave. A long time passed before she felt a hand on her shoulder, startling her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Haruka and Makoto standing behind her, a gentle smile on the latter's face as his hand rested on her shoulder.

"I thought I said I'd meet you guys in school?" Byakuya asked, raising an eyebrow. She had left a note on the front door for Makoto, saying that she had left early for classes. Clearly, they had seen through that.

"We haven't been here in a while, ourselves." Makoto said kindly. "We thought we'd drop by and say hi."

"How'd you know I was here?" Byakuya asked again. She had never said anything about her going to the graveyard...

"You never get up so early for school." Makoto said knowingly.

"What if I'd gone shopping or something?"

"You never do." Haruka said simply.

"...Fair point." Byakuya mumbled, returning her gaze to her mother's gravestone. Makoto knelt in front of the grave as well and placed his hands together in a prayerful gesture, Haru mimicking his actions.

"Watch over our race, Mikasa-obasan." Makoto said quietly. "We'll do our best and have fun- just like you taught us, alright?"

Byakuya's eyes softened when she heard Makoto say those words. She knew he wasn't just saying that as a prayer- it was also a gentle reminder of her mother's teachings.

'Did you have fun?'

That was what Mikasa would always ask them, first and foremost after a race. She never cared whether or not they won or lost- she only ever cared about whether they had enjoyed the swim. As long as her students gave it their all and enjoyed themselves, she would be happy with that.

Byakuya just cast her eyes to the ground again, a despondent look on her face. She couldn't understand- how could anyone 'have fun' if they lost? Her mom's words had seemed to make so much sense back then, but now... she just couldn't comprehend any of it.

"Byakuya." Haruka suddenly called out, regaining the girl's attention. She looked up to see both boys standing again as they looked at her. "It's time to go."

"Do you want a few more minutes?" Makoto asked. Byakuya simply shook her head and smiled up at her two friends.

"No. It's okay." Byakuya said, brushing herself off as she stood up. She hefted her bag over her shoulder and shot her friends a small smile before they walked back to the entrance of the cemetery. Her confusing thoughts and emotions disappeared as she and her friends left behind the silent gravestones, returning to the loud and hectic world that awaited them.

There was hardly ever time to look back when life kept moving on so fast.

* * *

><p>Rin stood in front of Haruka Nanase's house, pressing the doorbell and waiting for an answer. There was no response, and the Matsuoka boy "tch"ed in irritation as he pressed the doorbell over and over again. Still, no one answered.<p>

"He's not home?" Rin muttered to himself. He wasn't quite sure how he had gotten here in the first place, but he wasn't focused on that at the moment. He reached for the door, and much to his surprise, it actually slid open without any resistance.

"Oh. The door's unlocked." He said to no one in particular. It was eerily quiet in the neighbourhood, and Rin shifted his weight to another foot uncomfortably as he entered the Nanase household.

"I'm coming in." Rin announced. As he walked through the house, he noticed again how silent everything was. He frowned and made his way to the living room, where he saw nothing but a single fishbowl sitting on the floor of the room. The room was near empty- the red and white goldfish swimming around in the bowl was the only source of movement in the still room.

The shoji doors in the back were open, and light flooded the living room as the sun shone through the wide open space. The light cast shadows of the goldfish all over the floor, but for some reason, instead of a single moving shadow there were many of them, the shadow fishes all seeming to swim freely over the floor. Compared to the goldfish in that tiny, compact bowl, it was like different world altogether outside of the fishbowl. The moving shadows almost seemed to mock the single goldfish as it saw its own shadows bask in the light of that bigger world, while it itself was stuck in its cramped environment. The goldfish almost seemed to be aware of the larger world just past its glass walls, and yet it was like there wasn't anything it could do to break through...

As Rin stared at the goldfish, his concentration was broken when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He looked back over his shoulder to see none other than the master of the house himself, staring back passively at the intruder.

"Why are you here?" Haruka asked, his voice neutral. There was something off about him, but Rin couldn't quite place his finger on it.

"Oh, you're home." The Matsuoka boy said gruffly, smirking arrogantly as he turned to face Haruka. "I'm here to challenge you to a race, obviously."

"I only swim free." Haruka responded, the tone of his voice unchanging. His blue eyes seemed almost frozen, and Rin was stunned for a moment at the response. When Haruka turned around and walked towards the door, Rin quickly regained his composure and ran after him.

"Wait!" He growled out, following the boy and leaving behind the room with the single goldfish and its mocking shadows.

As Haru opened the doors, Rin found himself engulfed in a bright light, and automatically raised his hands to shield himself from the blinding brightness. When he lowered his hands, he found himself in a whole new place entirely- the swimming pool of the old Iwatobi Swim Club, to be exact. He looked down to find that he was already in his swimsuit, and that Haruka was in the same attire as well as he stood on the starting block.

"Come on." Haruka called out emotionlessly, the cool front never faltering.

Rin detested that.

"I'll show you how different we are now." The maroon-haired boy scoffed, shutting his eyes briefly. When he reopened them, however, what he saw made him take a step back.

"Dad?" He said, not quite believing what he was seeing. The young, dark-haired boy was holding a trophy and wore a medal around his neck- the same one his dad had worn in that old picture. When the boy turned around, Rin's suspicions were confirmed. There was no mistaking those crimson eyes and grin- after all, they mirrored his own exactly.

"Why?" Rin asked, confused. The small boy simply grinned back at him before he turned and ran, startling Rin once more.

"Dad!" Rin called out, chasing after the boy. His 'dad' was faster than he was, and he was left in the dust as he chased his dad out of the building and through the streets. No matter how fast he ran, his dad always seemed to be just out of his reach. As they neared a tunnel, Rin was just about to reach out to his dad- however, another bright light shone again, temporarily blinding the redheaded boy.

When Rin was able to see properly again, his father was nowhere to be found. As he stopped running, he realized with a start just where he was standing.

A large group of people were all dressed in white mourning clothes, solemn looks on their faces as they marched on during a funeral procession. Rin knew all too well where this was, and he felt his heartbeat pick up as he ran through the crowd, trying to find his way out. The people all seemed to make way for him, and he barely needed to push through to make his way out of the procession. His breathing grew heavier as he ran- he had to get out of here.

Right as Rin made his way out of the crowd, he glanced back for a moment. His red eyes widened as he saw two short, redheaded figures walking slowly behind the group of adults, also dressed in mourning clothes. The shorter of the two was clearly a girl with long hair- his sister, Kou. As for the taller boy...

The younger Rin Matsuoka turned around and met the stare of his older counterpart, his young face solemn while Rin- the real one- stared on in shock. What was going on? His younger self began to say something, causing Rin's eyes to widen in surprise...

And he awoke from his sleep with a gasp, his face pale and sweaty. He quickly sat up in bed, breathing heavily as he did so. It looked to be daytime, judging from the light shining through the windows, but Rin was far too busy trying to calm himself down to really register that fact. He was covered in sweat, and he was pretty sure his sheets were soaked in perspiration as well.

"Senpai?" Nitori's voice startled Rin out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see the lavender-haired boy staring at him worriedly. "Are you okay? Were you having a nightmare?"

Rin didn't answer. Instead, he grit his teeth and placed his head in his hand, ignoring Nitori as he stood up and headed to the bathroom. He needed to clear his head after that messed up dream.

However, he couldn't help but think once more of that goldfish in the dream, and wonder what it meant...

"I'm going to go get ready." Rin said, his voice cold. Nitori could only stare at his senpai's retreating figure in silence, not knowing what to say as he closed the door in his face and shut him out yet again.

Nitori hesitantly glanced at his phone, which was lying on his bed. For a moment, he considered texting Byakuya, but thought better of it. This wasn't something that should be known to anyone else. Rin Matsuoka, looking so scared and almost vulnerable after waking up from a nightmare, of all things...

No. No one should have seen him in that state. Not even Nitori.

* * *

><p>"Who are you texting, Bya-kun?" Nagisa asked, placing his chin in Byakuya's shoulder as he tried to get a look at what she was typing. The five of them were sitting on the roof for recess that day, and they were simply passing the time as they ate their lunch.<p>

"No one. Just re-reading some old messages." Byakuya replied, putting her phone down for a moment to continue eating her bento. She had been looking at the text conversation she and Nitori had had last night, when they had gone over the events they and their teammates were entering. According to Aiichirou, Rin was taking part in the 100m free- the same event Haru was participating in. Even though Aiichirou hadn't actually said anything, Byakuya could tell he wasn't quite pleased with Rin's choice...

"You seem rather subdued today, senpai." Rei commented.

"Just a bit tired. It's nothing." Byakuya said, shooting the boy a smile. Rei really was far too observant for his own good- sometimes he saw right through her masks. She admired that, but at the same time she wished he would just forget it once in a while.

"Oh yeah, Bya-kun!" Nagisa said suddenly. "Rei-chan and I have a Biology test soon; could you give us some pointers?"

"Sure. Just as long as you guys help out with my Chem and History." Byakuya shrugged. "And make sure you supply food. I get hungry when I study."

"Yeah!" Nagisa added. "Rei-chan, you handle the snacks!"

"Why do I have to do that?!" Rei exclaimed. He always seemed to be the one receiving the short end of the stick, didn't he?

"Because you're Rei-chan." Nagisa and Byakuya replied in unison, the latter imitating Nagisa's voice.

"That excuse is hardly acceptable!" Rei said, his brow twitching.

"Why don't we all study together one of these days?" Makoto suggested. "We can hang out someplace and help tutor each other."

"Sounds like a plan. You in on it, Haru-kun?" Byakuya asked. The boy simply nodded once in agreement, eating his food in silence.

"We'll arrange for a study date sometime after prefecturals, alright?" Makoto said.

"Rei-chan will be the one providing the snacks!" Nagisa said cheerily.

"Don't volunteer on my behalf!" Rei exclaimed.

Before the conversation could continue however, the door to the roof of the school opened and Kou emerged. She was grinning at the small group as she ran up to them and sat down on the floor in front of them.

"Everyone! I printed out the pictures from our training camp!" She announced. The others all shuffled closer to take a better look at the pictures, excited to see how they'd turned out.

"Lemme see!" Nagisa said enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes." Kou said patiently as she laid the photos out on the floor.

"Wow, you took a whole bunch!" Nagisa said in awe as he looked at the photos. There were quite a few candid shots of them goofing off, and a few ridiculous selfies as well. There was one that Nagisa had taken with Haru, the latter's face stoic while Nagisa bared his teeth in a funny way. Another one showed the blonde with Byakuya, both of them pulling faces at the camera.

"Everybody's having fun!" Makoto laughed, seeing a picture of Rei with drawings on his face as he slept- courtesy of Nagisa and Byakuya. There were even a few scenic shots of them, like those of them training during sunset.

"Look at this one! Haru-chan has a funny look on his face!" Nagisa said, spotting one picture where the five of them were doing a 'super sentai' pose. Makoto and Rei were taking the sides, posing with their arms pointed at the sky and facing Haru, who stood in the centre. Haruka was simply standing there blankly, while Nagisa crouched in front of him with his arms spread wide. Byakuya- the one who had taken the photo- had her fingers poised in a 'peace' sign at the bottom corner of the picture.

"And he's actually looking at the camera for once." Makoto pointed out smilingly.

"You need to work more on being a super sentai, Haru-kun." Byakuya added jokingly. Haru simply glanced at them exasperatedly before returning his attention to the photos once more.

"And here's the picture from when Bya-kun elbowed Mako-chan after she woke up!" Nagisa exclaimed, holding up a picture. It showed Makoto clutching his stomach in pain as he lay on the beach, while Byakuya looked like she was having a breakdown.

"You took a picture?!" Byakuya exclaimed, her face reddening at the memory.

"I saw it happening, so why not?" Kou said simply.

"I was having a panic attack! The least you could have done was help me out!"

"What fun would that have been?" Kou asked cheekily. Byakuya sighed.

"What is with this picture? It's not beautiful at all!" Rei suddenly exclaimed, holding up a picture of Nagisa helping him to strap on some inflatables. Haruka Makoto and Byakuya were standing in the background, the latter two looking on rather amusedly at the scene while Haru gazed at the ocean.

"Um, preserving the moment?" Kou laughed sheepishly. To be honest, it was just for laughs.

"Anyway, look here." Nagisa said seriously, holding up a selfie of himself and Makoto. The two boys were grinning happily at the lens, and at first sight, it seemed perfectly fine until...

"There's something behind Mako-chan!" Nagisa proclaimed, pointing at the pale, hideous face seemingly floating behind Makoto. The olive-haired boy let out a startled cry and immediately latched onto Byakuya's arm in shock.

"Oh, that's just Miss Amakata wearing a hyaluronic acid pack." Kou said nonchalantly.

"Hyalu-what?" Nagisa blinked in confusion.

"Hyaluronic acid." Rei repeated.

"She actually went outside with that thing on her face?" Byakuya deadpanned. The teacher looked terrifying.

"Don't scare me, Nagisa!" Makoto said exasperatedly.

"Eheh, sorry." Nagisa said apologetically. And then he screamed loudly, making Makoto scream right along with him.

"Can you guys keep it down?" Rei exclaimed, exasperated at the blonde's crazy antics.

"You're an evil person, Nagi-kun." Byakuya said, patting Makoto's head in a playful manner, before returning her attention to the pictures. "Did we really take that many selfies?"

"We took quite a few individual turns with the camera." Kou said, laughing a bit sheepishly. "I think there's one for all of us with each other."

"I should think so, too." Rei added, looking at all the pictures of them in pairs- all clearly taken by the camera as it was flipped around by one of the people in the photo. "Nagisa-kun especially took quite a few."

"Aww, thanks, Rei-chan!" Nagisa gushed.

"That really wasn't a compliment." Rei deadpanned. Makoto just chuckled at the sight, before another picture caught his eye. He picked it up and peered closely at it- it was a photograph of him and Byakuya sitting at the picnic table by the beach, the latter caught mid-laugh in the picture while he himself was smiling happily, looking at Byakuya almost almost affectionately. It was rather nice picture, though he couldn't help but think it looked almost as if they were on a date... Did Byakuya even like the idea of dating? And what would she think if she saw this picture? Would she be weirded out by the way he was looking at her in the photo? It would almost be like he had been caught in the act-

"You can keep that if you want, senpai." Kou whispered suddenly, startling Makoto. He glanced up and saw the Matsuoka girl giving him an almost knowing look, and he flushed slightly upon realizing that he'd sort of been caught.

"A-ah, thanks..." He responded, tucking away the photo in his pocket. Even though he was somewhat flustered, he couldn't help but feel a bit thankful for Kou's permission to keep the photo. This was one of the few pictures he knew of that had just him and Byakuya in it by themselves- normally pictures of them also included Haru or other people- and he wanted to keep it.

Plus, he liked how natural Byakuya looked in this photo. Normally she pulled weird faces when she took pictures.

"What's that?" Byakuya asked as she saw Makoto pocketing something. The boy jumped slightly at her question and his face reddened further.

"I-it's nothing!" He said quickly, hoping to deter her curiosity. It only made her more insistent as she leaned over and tried to get a glimpse of what he was trying to hide.

"C'mon, let me see-"

"Ah, is that Samezuka's swim team?" Nagisa asked suddenly as he saw Haruka pick up a photo, catching Byakuya's attention as she cut herself off abruptly (something Makoto gave a small sigh of relief at). The main focus of the picture was on Rin, photographed through a gap between two other swimmers. Rin was pulling his goggles over his head, stretching the elastic band out long behind his head as he did so- his trademark move. "When did you take this, Gou-chan?"

"I did some scouting on the second day." Kou said smugly, giggling a little mischievously. They all looked a bit impressed at that.

"That's our capable manager!" Makoto praised. Kou puffed up at the praise.

"Did you use sex appeal aga-"

"No sex appeal involved!" Kou cut Nagisa off immediately.

"There was no need for that- I'll bet Mikoshiba-san just let you in without second thought, huh, Kou-chan?" Byakuya asked, smirking. There was also another picture which showed the captain of Samezuka's swim team grinning at the camera and giving a thumbs up. If one looked at the back, they would also see Nitori glancing over, the usual, almost timid, look on his face.

"Oh be quiet." Kou hissed, playfully hitting Byakuya's shoulder. "Besides, I also got plenty of data in addition to the photos."

"These are the swimmers who will be swimming in the 100m and 200m breast with Nagisa-kun. These are the swimmers in the backstroke with Makoto-senpai. This is who will do butterfly with Rei-kun." Kou said, pointing at each individual picture she was referring to before she took out a book."I'll have their individual swimming styles and other information recorded in this secret data book by tournament time! I've also been doing a bit of research on some of the swimmers participating in the women's category from other schools, so Byakuya-chan's covered too!"

"You did?" Byakuya said, surprised. To think that Kou was willing to go through so much effort for them...

"Of course! I'm your manager, aren't I?" Kou justified. The Matsuoka girl glanced over at Haruka, who was still holding the picture of Rin as he stared at it. "Oh, and my brother is in-"

"The 100m free." Haruka said simply. The girl shot a surprised look at Haru- so he knew, too? Well, he did promise Rin, after all...

"Yes." Kou said, her gaze softening as she recalled that day at the shopping centre. She had her resolve- she would be rooting for both of them. "He didn't enter any other events, just so he could focus on his race with you!"

Nagisa took this moment to rush over to Makoto, and he whispered urgently to the boy as he knelt beside him.

"Haru-chan says he doesn't care about his times or winning races, but he's really motivated when he's racing Rin-chan!" Nagisa said cheerily. Makoto glanced back at Haruka, who still looked as passive as ever. However, there seemed to be a fire in his eyes- a drive that Haruka had whenever he thought about racing Rin once again.

A sudden strong gust of wind blew by, and the picture of Rin was pulled out of Haru's grasp. Kou and Nagisa tried to grab it, but they could only look on in shock as the picture was blown away, too far out of their reach for them to catch.

"Oh no..." Kou sighed. "That was the only picture I got of onii-chan during the camp."

"You can always print out another copy." Rei reassured.

"Yeah, you're right." Kou said, shrugging it off.

Haruka stared after the picture, which only went further and further away, almost disappearing from their sight. He thought briefly about how ironic this was- just as the picture slipped through his hands, the real Rin had gone the same way, just flying out of his grasp before he could catch him. Could he mend the bridge between them? Could he somehow catch that picture, which had flown so far away? Or was Rin already too far out of his reach?

As Byakuya looked back at the photos laid out before them, another photo caught her eye and she picked it up hesitantly. It showed a rather messy selfie of all of them, cramped together into one photo. Even so, the six of them all looked so happy as they grinned at the camera- well, Haru was as passive as ever, with Nagisa having to pull him into the selfie as he shot the blonde an annoyed glance- not caring how silly they looked as they fought for space on the small picture. Byakuya could only feel a small pang of regret as she stared at the picture, her grasp on it tightening ever so slightly.

Rin should have been in this photo, smiling with all of them. But... he wasn't.

* * *

><p>"Byaku-chan, are you scared of losing?" Makoto asked suddenly. He, Haru and Byakuya were walking back from school, as per usual, and the girl looked taken aback at the question.<p>

"What?"

"What Rei said earlier... he was right. You've been pretty down lately. Are you scared?" Makoto repeated, worry evident in his voice.

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would I be afraid of losing?" Byakuya scoffed.

"There will be people watching." Haruka interjected. "You're Mikasa Shion's daughter."

That made Byakuya breath hitch for a moment. Shion... with that name came so many expectations; especially in the swimming world. Her friends knew she had been out of practice for years now, but they were the only ones who took account of that fact. Everyone else would still be expecting a show- for her to win without breaking a sweat simply because she was born to that name.

She hated it.

"So what? If I lose, then they just have to deal with it." Byakuya said nonchalantly.

Failure. Disappointment. Disdain.

"Byaku-chan..."

"I'll be fine, already. Stop worrying so much!" Byakuya said laughingly, cutting Makoto off as they continued walking.

She was lying. Haruka knew it, and so did Makoto. However, neither of them pursued the topic, not knowing what to say. Haruka never cared about winning or losing- only swimming. He didn't know what could possibly be going through Byakuya's head, nor how to reassure her even if he did. Makoto, on the other hand...

Haru shot a glance at his friend, who was still glancing at Byakuya worriedly. Makoto knew what it was like to be afraid of something, even if it was a fear completely different from his own. Though Byakuya didn't voice her thoughts, Makoto would still be closer to understanding that Haru would be. Neither of them were broaching the subject though- Byakuya's stubborn pride would not let her show her weakness until she honestly couldn't take it anymore. The two boys came to a silent understanding that they would deal with the problem only if the situation arose.

So they carried on back home, not saying a single word until they bid each other goodbye.

* * *

><p>AN: Early update because hectic week ahead. Serious chapter is serious. I swear, rewatching the episodes when I write these chapters out makes me feel these Freels all over again. Ahhh Rin bby. Haru bby. All my bbies. I can't wait to see what a wreck I'm gonna become when I get to the last episode 8'D<p>

As usual- many, many thanks to Savage Kill, maggikarps and Heavenly Condemned for reviewing, pseudonympha for doing the above as well as following and favouriting this fic, nikkster101 for following this story, MusicWritesLife for favouriting the story, Little Kumiho for following, and nhiai93 for following and favouriting this fic! Ya'll are the best! 8'D


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

Rin cut through the water of Samezuka's indoor pool as he performed his last lap for the day. He was working hard on his front crawl- the big day was tomorrow, and he wanted to make sure he was in top shape. He couldn't afford to slack off now- he was so close, and he wouldn't lose this time. He would make sure of it.

Nitori sat by the poolside, watching his senior with an almost bitter yet concerned expression on his face. He had already finished his training today, but watching the Matsuoka boy swim seemed to irk him. Nitori's hands tightened as he held his knees closer to his chest. He had to struggle so hard just to be able to qualify for his best stroke, and even then it wasn't for the event he wanted. And Rin just...

The Matsuoka boy surfaced just then, climbing out of the pool as he finished up for the day. Nitori quickly stood up and handed him a towel, which was accepted without even a grunt of acknowledgement or thanks.

"Matsuoka-senpai...Why are you only entered in the 100m free for prefecturals?" Nitori asked suddenly, finally putting forth the question that had been on his mind all day as Rin dried himself off. "Your best event is the butterfly, and you've posted great times in it."

"...You just focus on your own event." Rin replied simply, turning away from Nitori. "You swim the individual medley, right?"

"I entered the 400m free." Nitori corrected, shifting his weight to another foot uncomfortably. "I wanted to enter the 100m, but our school has a lot of swimmers who are faster than me..." Nitori looked up at Rin, his eyes filled with confusion and curiosity.

"But you are good enough to participate in butterfly, or free, or whatever event you want! So why?" He asked insistently.

Rin remained silent, seemingly ignoring the boy. It took Nitori a while, but when he finally connected the dots...

"Is it because of Nanase-san?" He asked. It was more of a statement than a question- the lavender-haired boy wasn't immune to noticing the way Rin seemed to tense up at the mention of Haruka, and it was easy enough for him to make that connection.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The authoritive voice of Seijuuro Mikoshiba called out. The redheaded captain was walking towards the two of them, a curious expression on his face.

"Captain, I just-"

"Nothing's wrong." Rin said stiffly, interrupting Aiichirou's sentence. He tossed his towel over his back as he walked off, not bothering to stay around any longer. Nitori quickly caught the falling towel, and could only stare after Rin as he walked away.

"Why didn't you say anything to Matsuoka-senpai?" Nitori asked, turning back to Seijuuro. The captain frowned slightly at the comment.

"Why are you so upset?" Mikoshiba inquired in return. Aiichirou just looked away, not quite sure how to answer the question. A splash caught his attention again, and he looked up to see Rin doing a new lap- it looked like he'd changed his mind about being finished for the day.

"Well, I'm sure he has his reasons." Seijuuro said simply, though his brows were furrowed together slightly. He, too, wondered why Rin would choose to enter the free event instead of butterfly, but it was his own choice. Regardless of his authority, Mikoshiba would try as little as possible to interfere with the free will of his teammates as long as it did no harm to the rest of the team. Nitori nodded absently as he stared after the maroon-haired senior, trying to come to terms with that fact- Rin had to be doing this for a reason.

But still... Nitori felt very uncomfortable about this whole thing.

* * *

><p>A ringing of the bell. The members of the Iwatobi swim team clapped their hands together twice and bowed before tossing some coins into the offering box as they prayed. Prefecturals were tomorrow, so they had decided to stop by the nearby shrine to pray for luck. As they finished their prayer, they straightened up and prepared to walk away, making idle comments as they did so. Makoto paused briefly as he reached the stairs, and turned back when he realized one of them was missing...<p>

Byakuya was still standing in front of the shrine, her eyes closed as she prayed fervently. Her lips were moving as she continued her prayer, and Makoto's eyes softened as he watched the girl. She really was a lot more worried about this race than she let on...

Byakuya finally opened her eyes as she finished her prayer, glancing up as she let out a long exhale. She turned around and saw Makoto waiting patiently for her by the steps, and gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She apologized, falling into step next to him as they walked down the steps.

"It's okay. You weren't taking that long." Makoto responded in understanding. "Not going to get an Omikuji fortune?"

"No. I don't really want to risk getting 'bad luck'." Byakuya sighed. She really didn't need that sort if crappy omen right now...

"You might get 'good luck'; you never know." Makoto suggested.

"Nah. I'd rather not take the risk." Byakuya shrugged. The two of them caught up to Nagisa and Rei, who were both sitting on the steps leading up the the shrine.

"Haruka-senpai and Gou-san went to get a fortune." Rei informed nonchalantly. Makoto and Byakuya nodded in affirmation and joined the two underclassmen in sitting on the steps.

"I never would have thought Haru-kun would go get a fortune." Byakuya mused as she sat down, tapping her chin in thought.

"He normally doesn't." Makoto agreed. "But then again, he's racing Rin tomorrow, so..."

"Rin-chan isn't swimming butterfly or relay, right?" Nagisa said suddenly, voicing his thoughts. "Is it because Haru-chan isn't in those?"

"Most likely." Byakuya responded. "It would make sense... Rin-kun seems pretty adamant about racing him."

"Why does it matter if Haruka-senpai is in an event?" Rei asked curiously. He still didn't quite know what was up with this whole 'Rin' thing the others were always on about, since no one had really given him any specific details.

"That's just how they are." Nagisa answered simply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rei deadpanned at the vague answer.

"It means that Rin-kun needs a good punch in the face." Byakuya sighed. She didn't really mean what she said, but she sometimes felt like it.

"That doesn't really help explain anything." Rei deadpanned, his brow twitching. Sometimes they all seemed to forget that he hadn't been hanging around their group for as long as most of them had, and that he wasn't quite as up-to-date on their history. It was a bit frustrating for the bluenette.

"Now, now. We decided to stick to individual events too to focus on our strengths." Makoto consoled, patting Rei's shoulder to placate the increasingly annoyed boy. Rei seemed to calm down a little, but a frown remained on his face.

"I wanted to swim in a relay." Rei grumbled. This garnered startled glances from all his friends as they were taken aback by the boy's confession. Their surprised expressions quickly changed to those of happiness though, and they exchanged grins with each other.

"You want to be in a relay, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked excitedly. This was great news for the blonde- If Rei wanted to swim in a relay too, that would only leave Haru to convince.

"Yes. I rented a video of the Olympics." Rei replied, his gaze turning starry and a faint blush crossing his features as he recalled what he had watched. "It was beautiful to watch four athletes swimming different styles in succession to complete a race together!"

"Isn't it just?" Byakuya said enthusiastically. She was rather obsessed with watching relays herself ever since she had watched the one the boys had swam in grade school. "The way they just jump in turn after turn with such coordination... it's amazing!"

"The teamwork and timing has to be near perfect!" Rei agreed. "I was especially impressed by how beautiful the butterfly form was when touching the wall!"

The bluenette raised his hands up enthusiastically as he imitated the form he was speaking of before he continued enthusiastically- much to the others' chagrin and amusement. "Personally, I think it's very important that your finish be beautiful, and this shows that athletes around the world feel the same way-"

"Huh?" Kou's voice suddenly exclaimed, cutting Rei off in the middle of his proclamation and turning the four teens' attentions towards the Omikuji kiosk. "What's this, Haruka-senpai? Half-luck?"

"Huh? What's going on?" Nagisa asked as he and the others made their way towards Kou and Haruka, curious as to what had ignited such a response from the girl.

"'Half-luck'?" Makoto read aloud, confusion evident in his voice as he saw the fortune Haruka was holding. "I've never seen that before."

"Maybe it's a fluke." Kou mused.

"Does that mean half your luck is good?" Rei suggested.

"That would also mean half your luck bad." Byakuya pointed out.

"Do you always see the glass as half empty?"

"Silly Rei-kun. This isn't a glass."

"It's a metaphor..."

"I think it's nice!" Nagisa enthused.

"That doesn't make any sense..." Rei deadpanned.

"What? I think it does..." Nagisa complained.

"I have to disagree." Makoto added.

"You're weird, Nagi-kun." Byakuya said.

"What?!"

"That's enough." Haruka interrupted, shutting his eyes briefly after reading the whole fortune. It seemed like the usual corny advice that these fortunes normally held- 'Focus on your studies', 'Your business will do well' and the like. However, some of it stuck in his mind; like 'You will be reunited with the person you want to meet' and 'Try not to lose anything'.

That last one was especially taken to heart by the Nanase boy.

"It's just a fortune." Haruka said simply, though he quietly pocketed the slip of paper.

"But what if there's some deeper meaning to it?" Kou asked.

"A sign from the universe!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"This is getting blown out of proportion, don't you think?" Makoto asked sheepishly.

"It's just a coincidence." Rei added.

"There's no such thing as coincidence, Rei-chan! Everything is fated!"

"Fate is only what you make for yourself Nagi-kun."

"T-that was sort of deep, Byakuya-chan..."

"Eh, I just heard it from some movie."

"...For real?"

The six teens all continued conversing idly as they turned to leave the shrine. However, Byakuya paused for a moment and glanced back at the Omikuji kiosk as the others continued walking. She stared at the container containing the sticks used to decide which fortune one would end up with, and made a last minute decision.

She quickly payed the kiosk attendant 100yen and picked up the container, giving it a good shake before she took out the first stick that came out. She then handed the stick to the kiosk attendant, who handed her a slip of paper containing her fortune. Byakuya thanked the attendant and quickly opened up the paper, wanting to get it over with and catch up with the others. What she saw made her let out her breath in a huge sigh of relief, and she placed a hand over her heart as she thankfully shut her eyes.

'Good Luck.'

'Your path will be made clear to you'.

* * *

><p>"Ehh?!" Nitori exclaimed as he helped Rin to hold his bent legs down while the redhead did sit-ups on his bed. "Matsuoka-senpai, you're not taking the bus to prefecturals with everyone else?"<p>

"I need to go somewhere else first." Rin panted, not stopping from his exercise. It was already nighttime, but that wouldn't stop Rin from making sure he was in top shape for the race tomorrow.

"Where are you going?" Nitori asked.

"Why do you care?" Rin asked, annoyed. "Are you stalking me?"

"Are you going to see Nanase-san?" Nitori continued, ignoring Rin's earlier comment.

"I'm not!" Rin hissed, sitting up quickly and making Nitori start. "I told you to stop worrying about me and focus on your own event."

"But-!"

"What is it?" Rin said, growing more and more annoyed at the bombardment of questions he was receiving.

"...I'm upset." Nitori admitted despondently.

"Huh?" Rin was confused. He hadn't been expecting that...

"You're only entering free when you have the potential to do more, while I..." Nitori paused briefly, his grip on Rin's feet tightening ever so slightly. "I can't even enter my preferred event. I feel so useless."

Rin fell silent at that statement, and he moved his feet over the edge of his bed- maybe that was enough sit-ups for today. The two roommates were quiet for a while before Nitori broke the silence.

"I'm sorry if I offended you." Aiichirou apologized.

"No." Rin responded, before they fell back into silence.

"...You have endurance." Rin commented suddenly, gaining Nitori's attention. "The 400m free is more suitable for you than the 100m free."

Nitori was surprised- had Rin Matsuoka just praised him? Even if it was indirectly...

"Th-thank you very much!" Aiichirou stuttered out, flushing as he bowed thankfully. He was extremely happy to be praised by the person he so admired, but he concealed it to the best of his capabilities. Rin just grunted in acknowledgement before he decided to answer Nitori's earlier question.

"I'm going to see my dad." He said simply. Nitori was confused for a moment.

"Er, I thought your father passed away a long time ago..." Nitori trailed off. A look of shock suddenly crossed Nitori's face, and he quickly lunged forth and grabbed Rin by the shoulders.

"No! Don't do it, senpai!" Nitori wailed, his eyes actually tearing up out of fear for his senior's possible implication. "You can't die!"

"I'm not going to die!" Rin yelled back, his brow twitching."I'm just visiting his grave!"

"O-oh..." Nitori heaved a sigh of relief as he sat back properly. "Thank goodness, at first I thought I'd have to tell-"

The boy cut himself off, almost botching his secret. Rin raised a suspicious brow.

"Tell...?" He asked, daring Nitori to finish his sentence.

"N-no! Nothing, senpai! I meant to say.. the teachers! Yes, the teachers..." Nitori said unconvincingly. He had nearly said 'Shion-senpai', and he would have sentenced himself to death had he not stopped himself in time. He was still relieved that Rin wasn't actually contemplating suicide- it was a terrifying thought. His worrying was fueled mostly by his own concern for his senior, but it was also partially because he wondered how on earth he was supposed to tell Byakuya if Rin actually was considering such a drastic move. He could imagine her shrieking at him over the phone and climbing through the dorm windows to yell at Rin if she found out, or something equally drastic...

But then, if Rin really had been suicidal, Nitori would probably let her do it. There was no way he'd let Rin take that step- he was his friend, after all.

"...Whatever." Rin grunted as he stood up from the bed. He wasn't really all that interested in getting Nitori to spill. "I'm going to go get a drink. You thirsty?"

At the invitation, Aiichirou was even more surprised. However, the surprise was quickly overridden by joy at finally obtaining Rin's acknowledgement- however subtle- and he smiled happily.

"Okay, senpai!"

* * *

><p>Rin collected the two cans of Pocket Sweat that had come out of the vending machine. He then tossed a can to Nitori, who was sitting on the bench across the machine. The younger boy fumbled a bit on his catch, but managed to get a grip on the can.<p>

"Thank you very much." Nitori thanked gratefully. Rin just nodded once before opening his can with just one hand, chugging down his drink. Before Nitori could even start on his own drink, Rin had already finished his can.

"Oh yeah," Rin said suddenly, his voice nonchalant. "I don't think I told you about my dad."

Nitori seemed startled that Rin would be the one to start a conversation, but he quickly responded. "Yes."

Rin gave a small sigh as he sat down next to Nitori, preparing to relay his tale to him. Nitori was all ears- he was eager to know more about Rin, and he was glad that he was entrusting him with this information.

"Apparently, he was the best swimmer in Iwatobi when he was young... They say he was better than even Mikasa Shion." Rin began, holding his empty drink can im his hands. "He won tournaments all over the place, and brought home lots of trophies and medals. His dream was to become an Olympic swimmer... But he never achieved that dream. He married and had me." Rin continued, his tone almost melancholy. "He became a fisherman... and then he died, just like that."

If Rin was completely honest with himself, he held quite a lot of bitterness towards his father because of his decision to give up his dream. It wasn't his father's fault- Rin knew- and he knew that if his father hadn't settled down, he himself might have never been born. But even so, if his dad had gone on ahead and become an Olympic swimmer... there was a chance that he might have survived. He might have been able to come home, laughing jovially as Rin and Gou threw their arms around him to welcome him back from a hard day of work. He might have been around to bounce Rin in his lap as he told him stories of pirates and fairies, to lecture Rin lightly whenever he tried to copy the way he put on his goggles because it would hurt the back of his head, or just to help him blow out his birthday candles.

He might still have been there to watch Rin grow up.

"Late one summer, a huge typhoon hit. A lot of fishermen died when their boats sank. My dad... was one of them."

He still remembered the morning he came downstairs after he'd woken up, all ready to go to school when he'd seen his mom in the living room, face in her hands as she silently sat on the couch. Even though he'd been young and didn't quite understand what was going on, he was sensible enough to quickly usher his sister back upstairs, telling her that they weren't going to school today. When their mother had gathered herself together long enough to sit them both down and tell them that daddy wasn't coming home, Gou had asked innocently if he would be back in time for her fourth birthday.

That was the first time Rin had seen his mother cry. However, back then, he'd refused to let the tears overwhelm him. From the moment he got the news of his dad's passing up until the moment they'd lowered his casket into the ground, no tears showed in the young boy's eyes. His mother and sister had mourned and wept, but not Rin Matsuoka. He was the man of the house now- the one who was meant to be strong to support his family, and there just wasn't time or space for weakness to show. He wanted to be able to support them just as his dad could.

He couldn't cry, no matter how much he wanted to.

"...I want to achieve the dream my dad couldn't. And there's someone I have to beat before I can make that happen." Rin finished despondently, his grasp on his empty drink can tightening. If there was one thing he truly regretted... it was that he could barely remember what his dad looked like. Some days, he would even forget the sound of his dad's voice for a moment- the only thing he truly remembered about him- and those were the days he feared the most. He didn't want to forget what little he recalled about his father, and he hoped- with all his heart- that if he could achieve the dream his dad couldn't, he would be able to see his dad's face once more.

And there was someone in his way- an obstacle he needed to overcome in order to achieve his goal.

"Is it Nanase-san?" Nitori asked, though the answer seemed rather obvious to him at this point. Rin scowled at the mention of the Nanase boy.

"He has incredible talent, but all he talks about is nonsense like how much he loves water and wants to feel it." Rin growled out. "He doesn't swim to set records or win events, yet I still..."

He still lost. He still wasn't good enough no matter how hard he tried. Rin would have killed for that kind of talent, and Haruka didn't even care that he was a prodigy... that he could be the best with just half the effort Rin was putting in.

"Senpai..." Nitori started slowly when Rin trailed off. However, the Matsuoka boy's eyes hardened and he continued bitterly.

"That damned Byakuya isn't any better." Rin growled, nearly crushing his drink can. "Her mom could achieve the Olympic dream and still managed to find the time to raise a family. But Byakuya... She doesn't even care about any of that. She doesn't need to worry about anything because she was born with everything!"

No fear of forgetting her mom's face, because she'd gotten to spend enough time with her. No lost dream to fulfill in her mother's stead. No concerns, because she was free.

Not like he was.

Nitori was taken aback at Rin's outburst, falling silent immediately. He felt like he wanted to defend Byakuya, but he wisely kept his mouth shut at the senior's furious expression. Once again, Nitori wondered just what had happened between his senior and his old teammates that had resulted in such bitterness on Rin's part...

The maroon-haired boy glared at nothing in particular, his crimson eyes gleaming with determination. He had his goal set, and there was no way he was going to stray from it.

"If I can't beat Haru... I can't move forth."

* * *

><p>Byakuya let out a loud sneeze as she stood in front of the cupboard in her living room, and she rubbed her itchy nose.<p>

"I'd better not get sick now..." she muttered to herself. The girl then looked back at the photo she had previously been looking at, and her gaze softened once more. It was the picture she had taken back from the old swim club- the one that had her, her mom and Aoi in it. Those days seemed like ages ago, and things were so different back then...

The girl then cast her gaze upwards, to the top shelf of the cupboard. She carried over a nearby stool and used it to boost herself up as she reached out to take the box sitting on the highest shelf, carefully carrying it back down as she lowered herself back to the floor. Byakuya quietly stared at the gold Olympic medal that sat in the padding of the box, picking it up to get a closer look. The medal was a bit heavier than she had expected, and had remained untouched for so long there was even a thin layer of dust on it.

The girl used the hem of her shirt to wipe off the dirt, leaving the medal shiny and clear again as she stared at her reflection in the gold. Brown eyes, black hair that reached past her shoulders, a serious expression... she wondered just what other people saw when they looked at her. Did they see Mikasa Shion's daughter? A potential future Olympic swimmer? A lazy, rude teenager? Did anyone really see her for who she was- simply Byakuya Shion, a girl who was only just starting to truly grow up?

Sometimes she wished she hadn't been born to the Shion name- it left such big shoes to fill.

"Mom... wish me luck." Byakuya whispered, staring back up at the photo of her mother as her hands tightened around the medal she was holding. Mikasa's face just smiled back unchangingly from the picture, as always.

Byakuya sometimes wondered why she did that- talking to a mom who wasn't even there anymore as if she expected a response. But then... she figured that sometimes, talking to the dead was better than talking to the living.

That way, she didn't have to worry about disappointing anyone with what she had to say.

* * *

><p>AN: Given the currently messed up state of my schedule, I think I'll just stick to updating on Mondays to avoid any late chapters and stuff. Pardon the inconvenience (ahhh exams. Lovely. Ugh.) BTW, I'm not sure if anyone noticed... but I created Byakuya as a sort of parallel to Rin. A sort of twist on how they both have similar insecurities and views despite their different experiences, and how they deal with it under different circumstances. Hence explaining why I had originally planned for this to be a RinOC (still sort of regret the change haha!). Also... did I go too overboard with the angsty part of Rin's scene? Because I'm sorta worried about that... do let me hear your opinions- I'd like to adjust it if it's too OOC.

And as always, I want to say thank you to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, Heavenly Condemned and AmIValid for reviewing, Smexy Itachi-san (truer words have never been spoken in a username aha!) For favouriting both this fic and my profile, Plexi Pink for favouriting the story, augustusinfinite for following and favouriting this fic, MaxineCrazy for favouriting and following my profile and the story, as well as XxXTwilight-SinXxX, ThisxIsxLove, Vanadesse Meldiriel, xAngelwithaShotgunx (I like your taste in music xD) and lotusravenmoore for following this fic! Take all my cyber hugs, you guys ;D


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

When her alarm went off the next morning, Byakuya slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of her room, unmoving. She didn't even bother to turn off the annoying clock and its incessant ringing- she was far too lost in her thoughts as she realized what day it was.

'Prefecturals, huh...'

A beeping from her cellphone caught her attention, and she slowly got up to walk over to her charger. Unplugging her phone, she read the message she had received, the expression on her face unchanging.

'Good luck with your race today, Shion-senpai! I'll be cheering you on!'

"Nitori..." Byakuya trailed off, though she found herself smiling a bit at the message. Aiichirou really was a good kid- not a bad friend to have, at all. The smile stayed as she typed out her response and pressed 'send', before she placed the phone back down on her desk and heaved a small sigh.

'Good luck for your event, Nitori-kun! Give my wishes to Rin-kun, too! I'll be rooting for you guys!'

The Shion girl stood there for a while, hands on her desk as she contemplated every possible outcome of the day that she could think of.

'Please, let everything turn out okay.' Byakuya prayed silently, her eyes shutting as she did so. 'Please...'

Another beeping from her phone regained her attention- this time, it was a message from her brother.

"Time to shine, Turtle. You go out there and kick ass, 'aight?"

After reading the message, the girl took another deep breath before plastering a bright smile onto her face as she looked back up at the mirror on the wall. Everything would be fine- she had to have faith. After all, nothing was ever as bad as it seemed; right?

...Right?

* * *

><p>"Ah, Byakuya-chan. You're early today." Isami greeted kindly as he opened the front door of his house for the Shion girl. "Makoto went back up to get something- I hope you don't mind."<p>

"Oh, it's alright, Isami-ojisan." Byakuya said politely. "Just thought I'd come over and say hello- it's been a while."

"Yes, yes- of course. Come on in, Kotetsu will be glad to see you." Isami ushered the girl inside, leading her to the dining room. Byakuya was greeted by the happy exclamations of the twins, who rushed over and tackled her with a huge hug that made her stumble. Mrs Tachibana sat where she was, laughing pleasantly at the scene before her.

"Good morning, Byakuya-chan." Kotetsu said. "It looks like the twins have missed you."

"I don't see why they should." Byakuya laughed sheepishly. "It's only been a week or so..."

"You promised that you'd help us bake cookies, Byaku-nee!" Ren complained.

"You lied!" Ran accused poutingly.

"Sorry, you guys." Byakuya said apologetically. "I've been a little busy..."

"Don't let them guilt you about it too much, Byakuya-chan." Kotetsu said smilingly. "You've got a race today, right? That's wonderful; I'm glad to see that you still haven't lost your love for swimming."

"So am I, Kotetsu-obasan." Byakuya responded, a wistful expression on her face. "I'm not sure how well I'm gonna do this time, though..."

"You'll do fine, Byakuya-chan." Isami said encouragingly, giving the girl a pat on the shoulder. "Have confidence in yourself."

"...Right. Thank you, Isami-ojisan. Kotetsu-obasan. I'll do my best" Byakuya said graciously, bowing slightly.

"Of course. But are you really going to prefecturals with your hair all in your face?" Kotetsu said reprimandingly, gesturing at Byakuya's bangs. They had grown significantly longer, and nearly covered her eyes if she didn't sweep them to the side. Byakuya chuckled sheepishly as she tucked her hair behind her ears, trying to appease the strict- yet motherly- woman.

"Byaku-nee..." Ren and Ran both called, pulling their most pitiful faces as they silently coaxed her to come over. Upon seeing those looks, Byakuya heaved a small sigh and gave in- really, cute things were her kryptonite.

"Of course. I'll come over as soon as I'm free, alright?" She said appeasingly, earning another cheer and hug from the twins.

"Ah, Byaku-chan?" Makoto's voice suddenly called out, earning Byakuya's attention. She smiled and waved briefly at the olive-haired boy, who was dressed in the same attire she was wearing- the blue and white Iwatobi tracksuit along with the secret Iwatobi-chan yellow shirt underneath.

"Were you waiting long?" Makoto asked. The girl shook her head in response.

"No, I only just came in." Byakuya reassured. The boy looked somewhat relieved- really, he was so concerned about the littlest things- and he walked over to help pry the twins off of Byakuya.

"Anyway, I think Haru should be waiting outside now." Makoto commented. "We should probably be going."

"Good luck, you two." Kotetsu said as she walked over and gave her both her son and Byakuya a kiss on the cheek. "Do your best out there, alright?"

"Yes." The two teens responded, smiling at Mrs Tachibana.

"Good luck, onii-chan!" Ran said eagerly.

"Onee-chan, too!" Ren added. Isami just gave his son an encouraging pat on the shoulder as well- the simple gesture conveying all his pride and well-wishes for his son.

"We'll tell you all how it goes, all right?" Makoto said smilingly. He really was grateful to have such a loving family- he couldn't imagine his life without them. "See you all later."

"Good luck!" They all chorused again, waving at Makoto and Byakuya as they left the kitchen.

"I always did love your family." Byakuya commented. "You're a lucky guy, Mako."

"Your brother's nice enough, too." Makoto said.

"Yeah, but he's a weirdo." Byakuya replied.

"Are you saying you're normal?" Makoto teased as they reached the front door.

"I have no comment on that issue." Byakuya grumbled.

"Ah, wait." Makoto said suddenly, pausing for a moment as he fished around in his pockets. "I have something I want to give you... here."

The olive-haired boy took out a green and white Omamori from his pocket, and he placed it in Byakuya's hands. The girl was perplexed for a moment, until she got a closer look at the good luck charm and saw the words sewn onto it.

'Have Fun!'

"Makoto, this is..."

"Your mom gave one to me and the others for our relay." Makoto confirmed, shooting the girl a kind smile. "I want you to have mine."

"I-I can't." Byakuya stuttered, trying to push the charm back into Makoto's hands. "This is yours, I couldn't possibly accept something so precious..."

"I insist." Makoto said firmly, halting the girl's attempt to return the Omamori. "If you really don't want to keep it, then you can return it to me later. But for now, just hang on to it. You need it more than I do right now."

"I..." Byakuya trailed off, staring at the charm Mako had given her. She remembered that her mom made four of these for the boys, but to think that Makoto would be willing to give her one of the only things he had received from her mom, just to make her feel better...

"Haru-kun would probably need it more than me." Byakuya protested half-heartedly. "He's racing Rin-kun, after all-"

"This is for you." Makoto said insistently. "Haru has his own, anyway."

"...I don't know what to say." Byakuya said sincerely, her eyes softening. "Thank you, Makoto."

"It's no problem, Byaku-chan." Makoto said kindly, absently brushing a strand of hair from Byakuya's face as he did so. The girl's cheeks coloured and she turned around quickly, clearing her throat as she opened the door and headed down the stairs. Makoto gave a small laugh as he followed after her- she got embarrassed far too easily. It was adorable.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, they saw Haru already waiting patiently for them, also clad in the Iwatobi Swim Club uniform.

"Mornin', Haru-kun." Byakuya greeted as she caught up to the Nanase boy.

"Sorry 'bout that, Haru." Makoto apologized for the wait as he, too, fell into step next to the stoic teen.

"Yeah." Haru said nonchalantly, beginning the walk out of the compound with his friends. He hadn't been waiting all that long anyway- and Byakuya's flushed face when she had emerged from the house suggested that whatever it was that had taken up that time must have been pretty important.

"Today's the big day." Makoto commented idly. Haru made no response, but his blue eyes gleamed with determination. The race with Rin would be today, and he would not hold back.

He would settle everything today, for sure.

* * *

><p>On a cliff that overlooked the ocean, a maroon-haired figure stood in front of a gravestone, utterly silent as he gazed at the words carved on the granite headstone. A strong wind tossed his hair all around his head, but Rin Matsuoka didn't even bother to pat it back down. All he could see in that moment was his father's grave, and nothing else in the physical world existed.<p>

'Dad, watch me...'

Slowly, Rin reached out towards the gravestone, his fingers curved into a fist. He gently fist-bumped the headstone in a gesture of well-wishing. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine his father holding out his own fist to him, wishing him luck for his race.

'I'm going to win.'

The Matsuoka boy stood there for a long while, before he reached into his jacket. He started for a moment as he realized it wasn't there- he had forgotten to bring along the red and white Omamori he had gotten from Coach Shion all those years ago...

Rin shook his head. He didn't need something like that. Good luck wasn't worth anything to him- it was his own hard work that would pay off in the end. He was going to win; good luck or no.

* * *

><p>"Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Bya-kun!" Nagisa called out, waving his arms in the air to gain his friends' attentions. He was standing next to Rei at the train station, having arrived at the place before the other three had. "Over here!"<p>

"You could find that little siren in any crowd." Byakuya commented jokingly as Makoto waved back at Nagisa. The taller boy just gave a small smile at the comment while Haru remained as silent as usual.

"Check this out!" Nagisa said enthusiastically as they came closer, pointing at Rei's face. Upon closer inspection, one could see the bags underneath the bluenette's violet eyes. "Rei-chan was so nervous he didn't get any sleep!"

"I wish I had nerves of steel like you." Rei said, his voice somewhat lethargic from the lack of sleep.

"I feel ya, Butterfly-chan." Byakuya agreed sympathetically, patting Rei on the back. She hit a little harder than Rei had expected, and he stumbled a bit as Byakuya sheepishly retracted her hand and apologized.

"You'll get there soon enough." Nagisa reassured, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet in excitement. "Just relax."

"That's right." Makoto agreed.

"Okay! It's time for the tournament!" Nagisa exclaimed exuberantly as he pointed at the sky in a dramatic pose for emphasis. "Let's do our best to make a good showing and get ourselves a bigger budget!"

"Yeah!" They all cheered in agreement as they headed towards the train stop.

"Yay..." Byakuya cheered half-heartedly. Eh, she tried.

Turning around briefly, she saw Haruka as he trailed behind them, a serious look in his cerulean eyes. He glanced up just then, catching her eye. The girl hesitated for a moment as she contemplated what she wanted to say before settling on what she deemed best.

"Good luck for your race, Haru-kun." Byakuya said, smiling at the boy.

"..Yeah." Haruka responded, shutting his eyes briefly as they continued their walk to the train stop. The raven-haired teen reached a hand into his pocket, touching the purple and white Omamori he was carrying around. The Omikuji fortune he had gotten from the shrine the other day was in his pocket, too.

He normally wasn't one for believing in things like good luck and fate, but he figured he would need as much of it as he could now.

* * *

><p>"Iwatobi High School." Makoto told the girl at the registration counter.<p>

"Um..." the girl looked through the name list before glancing back up at Makoto. "Yes, go ahead."

She then looked up at Byakuya to address her. "And please note that the women's events take place right after each of the men's."

"Alright. Thank you." Byakuya said politely, before she headed towards the stadium with her friends.

"That reminds me, when we gave our names during a tournament in grade school, they started checking the girls' list." Nagisa commented idly.

"You're right!" Makoto added.

"Could be worse." Byakuya shrugged. "I actually did get signed onto the boy's events once."

"You actually went and swam in that race, too..." Makoto laughed sheepishly.

"I didn't know what else to do."

"Rei-chan also has a girly name, so it's too bad..." Nagisa sighed.

"What's 'too bad' about it? I don't understand what you're saying." Rei asked defensively.

"Just the fact that your masculinity is questionable." Byakuya said simply.

"Your femininity is questionable."

"Ouch."

Suddenly, Nagisa gave a small exclamation as they reached the locker rooms of the stadium- both male and female competitors were to share one huge locker room, and two seperate changing rooms and washrooms. There were loads of other competitors already there; some already dressed in their swimsuits. There were people milling about everywhere, and the sight was nostalgic to the more experienced swimmers of the club.

"It's been a long time since we've been in this atmosphere!" Nagisa enthused.

"Brings back memories..." Makoto agreed wistfully.

"Y'know, you're a lot less nervous than I thought you'd be, Rei-" Byakuya cut herself off when she saw Rei staring at the crowds of people with a look of apprehension.

"I take it back. You're nervous, alright." Byakuya laughed sheepishly.

"Are you okay?" Nagisa asked the bluenette, making hims start. "Haven't you been in track tournaments?"

"Th-this is my first swimming tournament..." Rei said, adjusting his glasses nervously.

"It'll be fine!" Nagisa reassured. "Just forget about the large crowds of people watching, and the really strong opponents, and the ticking clock, and-"

"You aren't helping!" Rei exclaimed as they all made their way past the changing rooms to the pool grounds of the venue. There was a huge 50m pool in the centre of the field, and spacious spectator stands lined both sides of the field. There were people hanging up banners on the fences and stands, and there were even several swimmers using the pool for warm-up rounds. The Iwatobi bunch looked around in awe at the amazing sight- it looked and felt like an actual competition.

Haruka was gazing at the pool with a neutral expression, betraying none of the thoughts that were going through his head. Makoto looked back at the Nanase boy, noticing the slight change in the boy's demeanour. As passive as he may have seemed, Makoto could practically feel Haruka's determination rolling off of him in waves. Nothing about Haru ever escaped Makoto's notice, no matter how hard he tried to conceal it.

Next to Haru, Byakuya's tightened her hold on her bagpack straps as she took in the sight before her. If her nerves during the joint practice at Samezuka were bad, this was ten times worse.

'I can do this. I can.'

* * *

><p>"Here's the program for the first day." Kou informed the five teens as they gathered at the spectator stands. She held several sheets of paper, each one depicting the events they would be participating in. "They're starting with free in the morning. Haruka-senpai is in the fourth heat."<p>

"Wait!" Nagisa exclaimed, pointing at the paper. "Haru-chan and Rin-chan are in neighbouring lanes!"

"Talk about coincidence." Byakuya murmured.

"Not necessarily. The heats were drawn based in qualifying times, right?" Makoto inquired.

"Yes." Kou nodded in affirmation.

"That means they're even." Nagisa mused.

Haruka just remained unfazed at the news, not even blinking as he sat down on the bench.

"Eh?" Byakuya suddenly exclaimed, staring at the list of people taking part in the women's 100m free event. "Meiko... Aikawa?"

"She's the swim team captain of Kingyo High." Kou added her input.

"The girls' swimming powerhouse?" Nagisa said in surprise.

"Do you know her, Byakuya-senpai?" Rei inquired.

"Yeah." Byakuya replied, a wry smirk on her lips. "She tried to recruit me during my last year of middle school."

"The captain of the Kingyo Swim Club tried to get you on the team?" Kou exclaimed in surprise.

"You never mentioned this before." Makoto commented curiously.

"I refused- since I stopped swimming back then." Byakuya said, shrugging it off.

"But if she's in the same heat as you... that means you're almost the same level as a captain, Bya-kun!" Nagisa said excitedly. Byakuya cringed when she heard that- great, more pressure...

"It's not important." Byakuya mumbled, before turning to Kou. "Anyway, what are the requirements to advance, Kou-chan?"

The maroon-haired girl nodded once and turned back to her list before addressing the group. "The eight fastest times from each event advance to the finals and qualify for regionals."

"So only one winner per heat..." Byakuya murmured. The others all looked just as nervous and excited as she did- it wasn't going to be easy to beat all of the other opponents...

"It'll be fine!" Miss Amakata assured. The young teacher was sitting on one of the benches, holding her usual umbrella. "No need to get nervous. Just swim the way you normally do. The most important thing is to never give up."

"There's a quote by Napoleon..." Miho continued, striking a dramatic pose as she quoted. "Five minutes make the difference between victory and defeat!"

"Five minutes?" Nagisa said confusedly.

"Amakata-sensei... that's too long." Kou added.

"Napoleon obviously never meant for that quote to be used in swimming races." Byakuya scoffed.

"Eh?" Miss Amakata blinked.

"Well, you see..." Kou then began to explain the basics to Miss Amakata regarding the average times of swimmers, while the others simply glanced back at each other.

"Well guys," Makoto said determinedly, eager to get the spirits of his team back up. "Do the best you can in each event. Let's make sure we can leave with no regrets!"

"Yeah!" They all enthused, pumping their fists in the air. For the sake of their team, they would not give anything but their best.

* * *

><p>"That's Oga South High School- also known as Oga South." Kou pointed out as they all watched the various school teams gathering in the field from the stands. "They have a swimmer who's known as The Whitebait of The Sea of Japan."<p>

"They have someone with that nickname?" Nagisa inquired. They must be quite talented to acquire such a name...

"And over there is Saijouin High School." Kou said, gesturing to another team. "They have a swimmer who's known as Joe the Flying Fish. He has an incredible vertical."

"That seems kind of cool..." Nagisa said thoughtfully. "I want a nickname, too!"

"You always stretch yourself out more near the end of a race." Makoto commented.

"Then... how about Bamboo Nagisa?" Kou suggested.

"Wait, why bamboo?" Nagisa exclaimed. "Bamboo has got nothing to do with swimming!"

"Iwatobi Penguin." Byakuya said.

"Eh?"

"Penguins have more developed breast and wing muscles to help them swim faster. You specialize in the breaststroke, so it fits." Byakuya responded. "Plus, Ao-nii has been calling you that for years."

"That's perfect!" Nagisa said enthusiastically. "I wanna be called the Iwatobi Penguin!"

"And there..." Kou announced, pointing at the all-girls team that just walked through the entrance to the field. "That is the Kingyo High Swim Team. Their captain is already preparing to be trained for the Olympics after she graduates."

"The girl at the front?" Makoto inquired, pointing at the broad-shouldered brunette with her hair in a pixie cut. She seemed to exude confidence, yet her dark eyes were shining with liveliness. She definitely looked the part of a captain.

"That's her, all right." Byakuya confirmed. She was going to have a tough time if that was her opponent...

"Anyway," Rei said, returning to the topic. "Did you collect all of that data by yourself?"

"Well, I'm the manager." Kou said, brandishing her notebook. There were various notes written everywhere, and even a few diagrams to boot.

"You even have notes on their muscles." Rei deadpanned.

"But many things can't be expressed through notes..." Kou said seriously, turning a stoic gaze towards the field once again.

"...Muscles are best in the flesh!" She squealed suddenly, grabbing onto the railing of the stands as her other hand covered her mouth. She was literally sparkling as she stared at all the swimmers on the field. "All of these muscles simultaneously in one place! Wonderful! Marvellous!"

"Oh my goodness, they're just sooo amazing!" Byakuya added enthusiastically, imitating Kou's actions.

"Please stop." Rei sighed.

"You don't need to ask me to." Byakuya sighed, straightening up. She couldn't take herself seriously...

"Hey, Gou-kun!" A voice suddenly called out, attracting their attentions. They all turned towards the entrance of the field, where they saw Seijuuro Mikoshiba waving enthusiastically at them as he grinned.

"Oh look, it's Rin-chan's captain." Nagisa commented.

"Kou-chan, your boyfriend is calling." Byakuya said.

"I told him to stop calling me Gou-kun..." Kou sighed, before she registered what Byakuya said she blanched. "And he's not my boyfriend!"

"You keep telling yourself that."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Haruka ignored the conversation going on as he gazed intently at the members of Samezuka's swim team. He was only searching for one person in particular, but...

"I don't see Rin." Makoto said suddenly, gaining Haru's attention. It was obvious that he knew what Haru was thinking, and he took out his watch to look at the time. "Maybe he already headed over to the assembly area."

Haruka didn't need to know more than that. He simply turned around and grabbed his goggles- which he had left on his seat earlier- and walked off, intending to leave the spectator stands. He might as well get ready- it would start soon. His ocean-blue eyes gleamed with fierce determination as he prepared for the confrontation, eager to get it over with at last.

Makoto stared after Haru as he stalked off, not even bothering to address his friends before he did so. Mako understood his actions, however- Haruka was pumped up, and he was ready to face Rin. All they could do now was cheer him on and hope for the best.

"Haru..." Makoto murmured, his own expression turning determined. "Win your race."

* * *

><p>Haruka made his way through the halls of the stadium, heading towards the changing rooms. As he made his way down a particular hallway, he encountered a familiar redheaded figure sitting on a bench against the wall, clad in the Samezuka Academy sports jacket.<p>

"I'm here, as promised." Haruka said monotonously. Rin simply scoffed as he stood up, a confident smirk on his face. He was already clad in his swimsuit- clearly, he had been waiting here deliberately.

"Of course." He said arrogantly. "I kept my qualifying time low so that I'd be in the same heat as you."

"No need for that. We'd still meet in the final." Haruka pointed out, his blue eyes sharp.

"I can't wait that long. Besides..." Rin reached towards the goggles hanging around his neck. He moved them to his head, stretching the elastic band out before letting it snap back against his head in his trademark move. "There's no guarantee that you'll make it to the final."

Haru's eyes narrowed as Rin said that, the fire in his eyes growing even stronger as Rin directly challenged his capabilities. Rin met his gaze evenly, his own crimson eyes burning with determination.

"No one else matters. This is between you and me." Rin announced simply as he walked by Haru, heading to the assembly area. "I look forward to it."

Haruka didn't even turn around to look at Rin as the boy walked away from him. Instead, he continued his walk towards the locker rooms, seemingly unfazed.

As Haruka stared into the mirror hanging in his locker, he thought over what Rin had said, knowing all too well what the unspoken message underlying Rin's words was.

'I will beat you.'

Haruka's grip on his swim cap and goggles tightened as he gazed at his reflection. His sapphire eyes stared back at him, more passionate and fierce than he'd ever seen before.

"Today, I become free." Haru said to himself, before shutting the locker door and heading towards the pool area.

It was time.

* * *

><p>Byakuya's brown eyes watched the first batch of swimmers keenly as they swam across the pool. Any time now, it would be Haru's turn...<p>

"Haru-chan and Rin-chan are up next!" Nagisa suddenly exclaimed.

Speak of the devil.

Byakuya shifted her gaze to where Nagisa was pointing at, staring at the line of swimmers making their way towards the starting blocks. There were only two individuals she was focused on, though- one very stoic raven-haired teen, and another very perplexing redhead.

How she wished this would go as smoothly as she hoped.

"Who are you cheering for, Matsuoka-san?" Miss Amakata asked Kou, who had a fiery gleam in her eyes.

"Both of them!" She replied without hesitation, her fists clenching in complete certainty.

"Haru-chan! Fight!" Nagisa hollered. Haru didn't look up, but they didn't doubt for a moment that he didn't hear them.

"I've never seen Haru-kun this... intense." Byakuya murmured as she saw Haru and Rin exchange a brief glance as they stepped onto the starting blocks. There was something different in the way Haru was moving- something... purposeful.

"Set..." The announcer said, prompting all the swimmers to get into the starting positions. Haru's muscles were tensed up, ready to spring as soon as the announcer would say...

"Go!"

Rin and Haruka barely wasted a second- both leaping into the water at the exact same time. Their dives were near flawless, and their strokes were definitely not lacking in terms of speed and strength. All the swimmers were unarguably good, but Rin and Haru...

"They're fast!" Rei exclaimed, his voice awed as he watched the two seniors currently in the lead.

"Rin-chan's gotten a lot faster!" Nagisa added, his voice excited and urgent. "He's pulling ahead of Haru-chan!"

"Haru's falling behind in the first leg?!" Makoto gaped in disbelief. There was no way...

"They're entering the turn!" Rei announced. He never realized simply cheering for someone during a race would be this exhilarating- what was it like to actually swim in one?

"Rin-kun's going to gain even more ground..." Byakuya said, her eyes widening as she realized what this garnered...

* * *

><p>As Rin swam past Haruka just as the raven-haired boy was about to make the turn, Haru's eyes were wide with shock. Rin had gotten that much further ahead of him? Through his breathing, Rin shot Haruka an almost malicious grin as he swam past the Nanase boy.<p>

Haruka felt his heart stop. This had far exceeded his expectations- he needed to push harder; he had to...!

As he made the turn, he put even more power into his stroke, pushing himself to make up for the lost ground. He felt his breathing grow heavier, but he ignored his burning muscles as he exerted all his energy into his swimming. Swimmers normally became faster unconsciously when they felt the need to beat an opponent, and Haru was no different.

Subconsciously, Haru could make out the sound of his friends cheering for him...

* * *

><p>"Haru-chan's catching up!" Nagisa announced. This was intense...<p>

Makoto looked on, his eyes wide as he watched the suspenseful race. Gathering up his wits, he took a deep breath before he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Haru!"

"Haruka-senpai!" Rei followed up, cheering louder than he'd ever cheered before.

"Go!" Byakuya added loudly.

The two swimmers they were all so focused on seemed to increase their speed- if that was even possible. The tension was nearly palpable as they cheered enthusiastically for their beloved teammate, hoping desperately for his victory. Rin and Haru swam with all their might, fighting for that one space at the top. Just a bit more... less than a meter left, and...

As they finished their race, they both touched the wall at almost the exact same time. Despite the distance, Byakuya's keen eyes allowed her to see the exact time they had both reached the wall. One of them had finished before the other, and that was...

"...Shit." Byakuya cursed, her brown eyes clenching shut as she pinched the bridge of her nose, realizing what this meant. The numbers on the scoreboard lit up, announcing the positions of the various swimmers. Next to Haruka's name was the number '2'. And Rin...

Rin had won.

"Haru... lost." Makoto stuttered out, his tone utterly appalled.

"...No way..." Nagisa murmured, his own eyed wide with shock. Rei just kept silent, though his own face betrayed his disbelief.

"And..." Kou said slowly, staring at the scoreboard. The names on the board were being rearranged- depicting the names of those who were to advance. And Haru...

"He didn't advance." Kou finished, her voice quiet. This... was a disaster no one had seen coming.

* * *

><p>Down in the pool, a triumphant Rin Matsuoka ripped off his goggles and swim cap as he grinned widely at his victory. He was so ecstatic he was practically leaping for joy in the pool, water splashing everywhere. He didn't care- his burdens were lifted. The one thing standing in his way was gone; he could move on, and he was finally a step closer to his dream.<p>

He was free.

"YES!" Rin laughed, his voice filled with glee. "YES!"

"Way to go, Matsuoka!" The rest of the Samezuka team cheered from their place in the stands. An enthusiastic Nitori had even made a makeshift loudspeaker as he cheered for his senior's success.

"Senpai!" Nitori cheered happily. After what Rin had shared with him that day, he was happy for him. All that struggling and pushing had paid off- Rin had finally achieved what he had strived for.

Haruka stared blankly at the pool, not able to look up as he panted heavily from the exhaustion. He couldn't believe it- he'd lost. After he'd tried so hard... he'd lost.

Why did that bother him so much?

"Haru!" Rin called out arrogantly, catching Haru's attention. Rin had gotten out of the pool and stood in front of Haru, smirking viciously back at him as he met his gaze. His expression was one that Haru never would have have associated with the boy he knew all those years ago.

"I win. This means I'll never swim with you again." Rin announced, his tone filled with dark glee. Then, the smirk fell from his face, his crimson eyes met Haruka's blue ones evenly as he continued.

"Never."

Haru's eyes widened in absolute shock. The words Rin had uttered were like a physical blow to him that rendered him immobile. He couldn't make himself speak, or even reach out, but his eyes spoke the truth. Confusion, hurt, shock... and then they became utterly blank.

But Rin didn't care. All he saw was his victory, and he turned his back on Haru once more, walking away and further widening the distance between them. There was nothing standing in his way now, and he was basking his success and freedom, not even sparing a second thought for the raven-haired teen.

Only this time, Haru felt nothing. No hope, no despair... nothing.

* * *

><p>AN: Ahhh Rin, such an amazing character. To create a huge blowout with a single action... it's such a beautifully heartbreaking destruction 8'D And yeah, we're just dropping bombshell after bombshell of pain and angst here. Don't worry guys, it's over for the most part. On a side note... EFF MY FREELS. HAS ANYONE SEEN THE (uber short) PREVIEW FOR SEASON 2? "OUR FIRST AND LAST SUMMER". NO. I CANNOT. (On yet another side note if it hurts me enough this could mean a sequel to this fic lol)<p>

Once upon a time, this fic was just a small thing that barely had 5 followers and two reviews, and now... wow. We've already reached 40+ followers and favs, along with 60+ reviews. I just... I can't man. You guys are great just for supporting this Freels-ridden newbie and her fandom-based tale. Thank you all so much QwQ

Shout out to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, Heavenly Condemned, MaxineCrazy and maggikarps for reviewing, MojoJuju514 for doing the above as well as following this fic, MyFriendsAreMyPower (I see KH and I like it haha!) for favouriting and following both my profile and the fic as well as reviewing, Lucky264 for favouriting my profile and this story, as well as kitsunlover and Nyx'sBlackRose for following and favouriting this fic! Ya'll are great!


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

Byakuya sat with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands, obscuring the lower part of her face. Her body was leaning forward in what would have been considered terrible posture, but she honestly didn't give a crap about any of that right now. The only thing going through her mind was the same as what the others were thinking...

'Haru lost...'

"Oh! There you are!" A voice called out, claiming their attentions. They all turned to see Coach Sasabe making their way towards them, waving at them with one hand and clutching a megaphone in the other. "Sorry about being late."

"Coach Sasabe..." Makoto said, surprised at the man's sudden appearance.

"Where were you?!" Nagisa exclaimed, standing up as he confronted the old coach. "You're late, Goro-chan!"

"Thank you for your help the other day!" Miss Amakata interjected quickly before Sasabe could retort, stepping in between the two. "And I appreciate you taking time off from work to come support us!"

"Oh, it's no big deal." Goro replied, forgetting all about Nagisa's indignance. His brow furrowed as he crossed his arms and placed an arm on his chin, staring intently at Miss Amakata. "I really think we've met before." He said, trying his darndest to place his finger on it.

"Oh no," Miss Amakata reassured quickly, fidgeting with her umbrella as she averted her gaze. "I don't think-"

"Geez," Nagisa sighed. "Did you come here to hit on girls?"

"I wasn't hitting on her!" Coach Sasabe defended.

"Haruka-senpai already swam his freestyle heat." Rei interrupted, informing the coach on what he had missed.

"Darn, I missed the prelims." Goro mused. "But I can still catch the final."

The others solemned immediately at the statement, their faces falling as they looked away.

"Haru-kun's not in the finals." Byakuya said curtly, making Coach Sasabe start.

"Huh?" The old coach exclaimed.

"Haru... didn't pass the prelims." Makoto explained, his tone melancholy. He still couldn't quite comprehend it...

"He lost?" Coach Sasabe repeated. Evidently he couldn't believe it either.

Byakuya's eyes squeezed shut as she rubbed her forehead in an attempt to smooth out the worry lines. If Haruka, of all people, had lost, what chance did she have at winning her own race?

And Rin...

Byakuya's eyes sharpened as they opened once more. She had seen how Rin had said something to Haru at the end of their race, and though she hadn't heard what it was he'd said, it was evident from his arrogant expression that it wasn't anything particularly encouraging. Rin was probably euphoric, but Haruka...

What was Haru feeling?

'Damn it all.' Byakuya cursed inwardly. 'Just... damn it all.'

* * *

><p>Haruka stood in the shower with his swimsuit on, letting the water beat down on him as he just gazed at the floor in utter blankness. His hands were placed on the wall of the shower, palms supporting him as he leaned heavily against the wall. The water was running all over his hair and face, obscuring his vision- but he honestly didn't care. He kept replaying what Rin had said to him over and over in his mind, his inner turmoil overshadowing any other trivial concerns.<p>

'I thought I didn't care about winning.' Haruka thought to himself, his blue eyes blank as he gazed into space. 'Wasn't I... wasn't I supposed to be free after racing him?'

That was what he had believed. He thought he had been willing to accept the outcome and finally overcome this burden, and yet... everything just seemed so much worse.

Haruka shut his eyes, trying to lose himself in the feeling of water raining down on him. Perhaps he had been right- perhaps there really wasn't freedom to be obtained in this world.

* * *

><p>Rin dried his hair off with a towel as he sat on a bench outside the locker rooms. He took a long swig of water from his bottle- man, he was exhausted. But that didn't matter; he had won.<p>

The mere thought brought a satisfied smirk to his face. He was free- he was finally free.

"Matsuoka-senpai!" Nitori's voice called out, catching Rin's attention. He turned to see the younger boy eagerly making his way towards him. "You did it! You qualified for the finals! And you beat Nanase-san!"

Rin's smirk widened at that, and shut his eyes in satisfaction.

"Yeah, well," He said, facing Nitori once more. "You go kick some butt too."

"Yes!" Nitori said eagerly. That was one of the rare times that Rin was wishing him luck- he would do his best not to disappoint. But even if he didn't, he would still be glad for Rin's success

After all, his friend was happy. That was enough.

* * *

><p>The members of the Iwatobi Swim Club- minus Haruka- were all observing the swimmers participating in the 200m free. They all watched as one particular swimmer overtook all the others, finishing his lap faster than anyone else.<p>

"Mikoshiba-kun in lane 4 has just set a new tournament record!" The PA announced, causing the crowd to cheer.

"Way to go, Mikoshiba!" The students on the Samezuka side of the stands cheered, louder than any of the other spectators.

"Wow, that's impressive." Coach Sasabe commented, impressed. Getting a new tournament record was no easy feat.

"Isn't Mikoshiba..." Makoto mused.

"Oh!" Nagisa exclaimed as the swimmer pulled off his swim cap and goggles, revealing a head of fiery red hair and golden eyes. "Samezuka's captain! I thought he was just an enthusiastic person, but he's actually a really good swimmer." Nagisa said thoughtfully.

"You don't get to be the captain of the swimming powerhouse by simply being enthusiastic." Byakuya responded simply. This earned a glance from Kou- normally Byakuya would jump at the chance to make a jab at Kou regarding her and the Samezuka captain, but now she was just... blank. It was unlike her.

She couldn't blame her though- after that last race, even she felt down.

"Right, Gou-chan?" Nagisa asked suddenly. The girl blinked for a moment- she had missed the question.

"Y-Yeah..." Kou murmured. Nagisa frowned a bit at that- Kou really seemed out of it. But then, given the whole mess of things involving her brother and Haru...

Rei kept glancing at his watch and back at the entrance to the stands worriedly. It was getting pretty late, and Haruka still hadn't returned...

"What's wrong?" Makoto asked, noticing Rei's nervousness.

"Haruka-senpai isn't back yet." Rei replied, almost worriedly.

"Oh, that's right..." Makoto responded solemnly. He had briefly forgotten about the time, and felt slightly guilty for neglecting Haru. He must be feeling terrible now...

"He's probably taking a shower." Nagisa added lightheartedly. It wasn't impossible- but that was honestly just his own wishful thinking. Showers didn't take this long.

"He's taking a long time, though... I'll go check on him." Rei said, standing up and heading towards the exit immediately.

"Ah, Rei! Wait up!" Makoto called out, standing up as well. He needed to stop him- Haru didn't need anyone to intrude his space now, especially given the current circumstances.

"Hold on, Mako-chan! Rei-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, following after his friends and tugging Byakuya along as well. "C'mon, Bya-kun!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Byakuya sighed exasperatedly. She wasn't sure this was the most most appropriate course of action, but it wasn't like she had a say in anything since Nagisa was the one pulling her along.

The remaining three just stared after the teens as they exited the stands, curious looks on their faces. Kou was the first to look away, a despondent look on her face.

"Don't dwell on it." Miss Amakata said soothingly, patting the girl's shoulder. "That's just how sports are."

"That's not it." Kou responded, her voice almost sad as she gazed out at the field. All the swimmers were chatting with their friends, smiling happily despite the fact that some had won and some had lost. "I wanted to see my onii-chan and Haruka-senpai race. But... that wasn't what I was expecting."

Despite how she'd seemed so ready to face whatever outcome that occurred before, she would be lying if she said she hadn't been hoping that Haruka would have won. The actual result had just left her confused- what could she do now? Her brother seemed happy, but... that wasn't the kind of happiness she'd wanted to see in her brother. She wanted to see him smile with affection and joy, not arrogance and spite. Was that all ruined, now? Would she ever see her big brother truly smile again?

Kou wished she could be sure of the answers.

* * *

><p>"Wait, Rei!" Makoto exclaimed, grabbing onto Rei's arm to stop his adamant advance.<p>

"Why are you stopping me?!" Rei exclaimed, turning around to face Makoto.

"Well, it's because..."

"Calm down, Rei-chan." Nagisa interjected, trying to smooth things out.

"Aren't you worried about Haruka-senpai?" Rei protested. Why did they seem so calm about this? Haruka was supposed to be the best swimmer of them all, as well as their friend- surely he needed some comfort after what had just happened?

"Of course we are." Byakuya replied, intending to placate the boy. However, the sound of footsteps approaching them caught their attentions, and they both turned around to see a familiar figure walking towards them.

"...Rin-kun." Byakuya muttered, her eyes narrowing as she saw Rin heading towards them. She couldn't help but feel some sort of dark emotion welling inside of her upon seeing him- Sadness? Rage? Worry? She couldn't even tell anymore...

"Ah, Rin-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, noticeably brighter than Byakuya. The maroon-haired boy started for a moment- he hadn't been looking ahead as he'd walked.

"You guys." He responded, a hint of surprise in his voice before he remembered and glanced away. "Right, you're all swimming in the tournament."

"Didn't even remember that, huh?" Byakuya scoffed, though she couldn't help but feel somewhat hurt that Rin had brushed them aside so easily. "Typical."

"Hey, Rin-chan?" Nagisa asked immediately, interrupting before Rin could respond to Byakuya's indirect jest. "Have you seen Haru-chan?"

"Haru?" Rin said, raising an eyebrow.

"He hasn't come back yet." Nagisa explained. Rin looked a bit surprised for a moment, before a smug smile crossed his face.

"Was losing to me that much of a shock?" He asked, his tone mocking. Byakuya felt her fists clench at his arrogant voice. "He's the one who said he didn't care about winning or improving his time."

Rei started at that and placed a hand on his chin. "He's not upset about losing." Rei mused, realization in his voice. "There must be some other reason."

"Huh?!" Rin said, glaring at Rei. "What else matters in swimming besides winning?"

Rei looked startled for a moment, but before he could reply-

"There is more." Makoto said suddenly, his voice serious. That was enough to catch their attentions- Makoto hardly ever sounded so solemn.

"At least, Haru thought there was something more. That was why he wanted to race you." Makoto continued, staring intently at Rin. The Matsuoka boy looked almost shocked as he stared back at Makoto's stern face, the olive-haired boy's words seeming to render him immobile. "And I'm pretty sure you're the one who taught him what that something was, Rin. When we swam in that relay in grade school, you-"

"What do I care?!" Rin yelled, startling Makoto into silence. Rin forcefully shoved aside the memory of the relay that surfaced at Makoto's words- he couldn't let that drag him back down again; he wouldn't. "I beat Haru, that's all that matters!"

"Rin-kun," Byakuya tried one last time, a desperate attempt to get through to their friend. "If you would just-"

"What do you know?" Rin growled lowly, glaring at Byakuya- he felt cornered, and would lash out at whatever he could to defend himself. "At least I was good enough to get what I want. All you do hide behind that facade. Just admit it- you're pathetic."

"Rin-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, shocked. But Rin just ignored them as he continued walking away, not even glancing back at them. Byakuya's face paled significantly at what Rin said, looking like she had just been slapped in the face. She might as well have been- those were the words she dreaded hearing the most. To hear the image and walls she had set up around herself stripped down in just a few sentences... it hurt. A lot more than she would have liked to admit.

"Bya-kun?" Nagisa called out, touching Byakuya's shoulder. She flinched upon the contact, and while Nagisa retracted his hand, his gaze seemed to become even more concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine. You just startled me, is all." Byakuya responded, though she didn't look him in the eye.

"A relay?" Rei asked suddenly, snapping their attentions back to him before Nagisa could pursue the subject. "Did you guys swim in a relay with him once in the past?"

"We didn't mention that?" Makoto inquired.

"You guys only told me that some things happened in the past!" Rei said exasperatedly. These guys didn't think of mentioning something as important as this?

"S-sorry, Rei-kun." Byakuya replied, forcing a sheepish smile. "Guess it slipped our minds. What with all the crazy stuff we've been doing..."

"If you were that close, why are you-"

"Now, now. Calm down, Rei-chan." Nagisa said, interrupting the bespectacled boy. "We need to find Haru-chan right now."

"...No, we should let him be." Makoto said, startling the others. His green eyes shone with certainty- he knew what he was saying. "Knowing Haru, he probably doesn't want to talk to anyone right now."

Here, he looked up at the PA system on the wall next to them, continuing seriously. "And we have our own races coming up, too." Makoto looked back at his friends and shot them a determined smile. "Let's focus on what we can do right now."

They all mirrored his confident smile, responding with a determined "Yes!"

"Well, that's that, then!" Byakuya said, clapping her hands together. "I should probably go get ready for my event. Wish me luck- I'm gonna go win myself a race."

"Alright, Bya-kun! Go get em!" Nagisa cheered. "We'll be cheering you on from the stands!"

"Good luck, senpai." Rei said, nodding his head towards the girl.

"Right!" She said, grinning back at them before she made her way towards the locker rooms. As she faced the other direction, her smile fell from her face. Rin's comment had hit deep, and she still felt the sting...

"Byaku-chan." Makoto suddenly called out. Byakuya turned around to see the boy walking towards her- the others seemed to have made their way back to the stands.

"What's up?" Byakuya said, her voice nonchalant as she glanced around subtly, trying not to meet Makoto's watchful gaze.

"I..." Makoto paused for a moment, contemplating his words. "What Rin said earlier... don't let it bother you, alright?"

"He was just being petty." Byakuya shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure?" Makoto asked skeptically.

_'No, I'm not.'_

"I'll be fine, Mako." Byakuya lied, forcing another smile to her face. "Stop worrying so much."

Makoto looked like he didn't believe her- he was the only one who could see right through her, and that made Byakuya uncomfortable. She wondered if he'd seen that look on her face after Rin's comment- he probably had, especially after Nagisa called out to her. She didn't want to appear weak now...

Thankfully, the olive-haired boy relented- though somewhat reluctantly. He lifted his hand to her chin, tapping under it gently to get her to look back up at him as he gave her a reassuring smile. He knew she wasn't as calm about this as she let on, but if she didn't want him to pursue it, then he wouldn't.

"Good luck, Byaku-chan." He said softly. "Whatever happens, just remember we're here for you."

"...Right." Byakuya replied, averting her gaze once more. As much as she wanted to take comfort from his words, she couldn't trust herself to look Makoto in the eye as she lied through her teeth. Makoto looked like he wanted to say more, but seemed to change his mind as he just gave her a light pat on the head, shooting her one last smile before he, too, turned around to head back to the stands.

Byakuya gave a small sigh after he left, feeling almost alone in the empty hallway. The 'happy' act was getting harder and harder to maintain, but she would keep it on as long as necessary- until she won the race. As much as she knew what Makoto had said earlier was true- that there was more to swimming than just winning... she needed this. In a way, she could understand what Rin had been getting at, and though she knew it wasn't right...

She had to win. It was the only way she could be certain of her own worth.

* * *

><p>'If Haru couldn't win his race, what makes me think I could possibly win mine?' Byakuya thought solemnly to herself as she opened her locker door and unceremoniously threw her tracksuit inside. She was in the women's changing rooms- already dressed in her swimsuit- along with several other competitors as well. She clutched her swim cap and goggles in one hand as she gazed despondently at the green Omamori charm she held in her other hand.<p>

'What if Rin was right? What if I can't-'

"Byakuya Shion..." A smooth voice laced with surprise and playfulness called out, snapping Byakuya out of her pessimistic thoughts. She turned around to see a tall brunette with lively dark eyes standing before her- someone Byakuya recognized all too well.

"I haven't seen you around in competitions for years." Meiko Aikawa said, a friendly grin on her face. "I thought you'd officially quit, but here you are..."

"Aikawa-san. It is good to see you again." Byakuya greeted politely, placing the good luck charm back in her locker before she continued her explanation. "My school only just established a swim club. We needed achievements, so here I am."

"Heh, still, it kinda stings that we lost you to another school." Meiko laughed good-naturedly. "You would have made a good addition to the team- I still can't believe you turned down my offer to join Kingyo."

"My apologies." Byakuya apologized. She held quite a bit of respect for the Captain of Kingyo's swim team, and couldn't help but speak formally around her.

"Don't need to be so stiff- it's fine." Meiko said, giving Byakuya a friendly pat on the back. "It's just good to have you back on the scene- you got potential, Shion."

"Th-thank you, Aikawa-san." Byakuya responded, somewhat startled. She had to admit- the captain of the Kingyo Swim Team was very charismatic, and her friendliness was rather intriguing; if not a bit peculiar. They were barely acquaintances, after all.

"You're in the 100m free, right?" Meiko asked, earning a nod from Byakuya in affirmation. "Good luck out there- I don't plan on losing one of my last high school races."

"Right back at you, Aikawa-san." Byakuya said firmly, determined to give it her all.

Even if she was unsure of her chances at success.

"You got spirit... I like that." Meiko said appraisingly. Just then, the PA system came on, calling for the participants of the women's 100m free event to prepare to get onto the field.

"Well, there's our call. See you out on the field, then." Meiko said, shooting a grin at Byakuya. The Shion girl returned the grin with a small one of her own- if there was one thing Byakuya was sure of now, it was that disliking Meiko Aikawa was almost impossible.

But that didn't mean she was going to go easy on her.

* * *

><p>"Where's Haruka?" Coach Sasabe asked as the last of the men's free events finished up. The 100m women's free was about to begin, and Haru still wasn't back. The others had returned quite a while ago- without the elusive Nanase boy, unfortunately- and Sasabe was growing increasingly frustrated. If there was one thing the old coach was insistent on, it was the importance of a being a team and supporting each other.<p>

"Oh, we couldn't find him." Rei lied smoothly. He didn't know how to say that they'd decided to let Haru be instead of seeking him out...

"Man, what is he doing?" Goro sighed. "Byakuya's about to swim."

That did it. Nagisa couldn't take it anymore as he stood up without hesitation. Haru was one of Byakuya's closest friends- it wasn't fair to her if Haru didn't come to at least watch her compete.

"I'm gonna go get him!" Nagisa declared determinedly, nearly running towards the exit. "I want Haru-chan to watch us swim!"

"Nagisa-kun!" Rei exclaimed, moving to stand up and stop him, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to see Makoto once more, who was shooting him a small smile.

"No. Let him go." Makoto said. "Haru should have had enough time- just trust in Nagisa."

Rei looked a bit startled, but slowly sat back down as he took considered Makoto's words. If there was someone who could get Haru back here, it was Nagisa.

After all, he was their group's little ray of sunshine.

* * *

><p>Haruka stared into space as he sat on a bench outside the locker rooms, facing a vending machine. He hadn't even bothered to dry himself off properly- simply settling for putting on his tracksuit minus the inner shirt. A droplet of water was hanging at the end of his bangs- not quite hanging on, yet not falling, either.<p>

'Back then...' Haruka thought despondently, recalling the day he raced Rin back in middle school. 'If Rin had won, would I be feeling differently now? Rin is swimming to compete in the Olympics...'

The droplet hanging from his hair finally gave in to gravity, falling from his hair as it dropped onto his nose and ran down his cheek- it almost looked like Haru was crying.

But he wasn't. He couldn't feel anything. Not sadness, or anger... just confusion. And a sense of loss.

'What about me?' Haruka thought to himself. 'Why do I swim?'

He had thought he didn't care about any of those trivial things like winning. He just wanted to swim and feel free. So why was this bothering him so much? Was his perspective all a lie? Was it that he really did care? Just what was his purpose?

"Hey! Haru-chan!" A familiar voice panted, snapping Haruka out of his thoughts. He turned his head, annoyed as he saw Nagisa running down the hall towards him.

"There you are!" Nagisa panted, bending over slightly to catch his breath. "Bya-kun's race is about to start! Hurry up!"

"I'll pass." Haruka said monotonously. He really wasn't in the mood- he just wanted to be alone...

"I don't think so!" Nagisa declared fiercely, grabbing onto Haruka's hand and pulling him along against his will. He was going to get Haru to watch them, no matter what. "Let's go!"

Resistance on Haruka's part was futile. The blonde boy was ridiculously strong despite his small size, and there was just no way to fight Nagisa once his mind was set.

Haruka sighed to himself. Really, all he wanted was some time alone...

* * *

><p>"She's fast!" Kou exclaimed as she watched Byakuya begin her front crawl. The moment the signal had been given, Byakuya had leapt in without a second to lose. Her dive was one of her strong points- coupled with her strong arms, she tended to get quite far at her starting point. However...<p>

"That other girl- Aikawa..." Rei trailed off, staring at the swimmer in the lane next to Byakuya- the girl had leapt off further than his senior, and had gained noticeably more ground. "She's got a stronger kick!"

"All together now!" Coach Sasabe announced, raising the megaphone to his mouth. "Go, go, go, go, go, Byakuya!"

"Go, go, go, go, go, Byakuya!" The others all echoed eagerly.

"Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, Byakuya!"

"Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, Byakuya!"

It was then that Haruka and Nagisa emerged from the entranceway, both panting slightly- they had run pretty fast to get back here on time. The swimmers were already nearly at the turn by the time they made it out here, and Haruka looked on with wide eyes as he watched Byakuya swim. He'd almost forgotten what it was like- watching his friends as they swam. It was... nostalgic, but not quite.

And if there was one thing he remembered all too well, it was that neither Byakuya nor Makoto had never missed a single one of his competitive races.

Nagisa just gave a secret smile as he saw Haru's expression, silently sneaking back to his seat as he left Haru standing there. He highly doubted Haru would try to go back now.

"She lost ground on the turn!" Kou announced, her voice urgent as she saw Aikawa shoot off even further as she made the turn. However, Byakuya seemed to speed up a bit after the turn as well- probably spurred on as she sensed Meiko overtaking her.

"Last spurt, last spurt, last spurt!" Coach Sasabe hollered. The others echoed the cheer once more, their voices growing louder as they awaited the outcome.

"C'mon, Byaku-chan..." Makoto muttered as the two leading swimmers approached the wall. Just a bit more... two more strokes and...

* * *

><p>Byakuya's hand slapped against the pool wall, a buzzer sounding right as she did so.<p>

Gasping for air, Byakuya surfaced from the water quickly. Yanking her goggles off, she stared intensely at the score board, searching for her name. Her eyes widened when she took note of the name in first place...

Meiko Aikawa.

Below that was "Byakuya Shion", in second place.

She'd lost.

* * *

><p>AN: I DID originally plan to have Byakuya win in prefecturals, but then... meh. Felt like torturing her bit more. The power to destroy my OC's life is beautiful. Have to study lots tomorrow, so early update. Yey. Pardon me if I don't reply to your reviews or messages until the weekend again- I still got two more weeks of exams to go OTL. But thanks for being patient with me, guys ;D<p>

As usual: Many thanks to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, nikkster101, maggikarps and MojoJuju514 for reviewing, Feint Illusion for following this fic and Flefleflo for adding this story to your favourites! Stay awesome, you guys!


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

Byakuya's fists clenched as she stared at the score board, and her face fell. She bit her lip and lowered her head, restraining the frustrated scream she wanted to let out. She'd failed. She had lost.

The girl stoically kept her gaze from the stands as she stared at the wall of the pool- she didn't want to see the looks of disappointment and sympathetic understanding on her friends' faces. She wouldn't be able to bear it; she'd had only one chance to get an achievement for the team... and she'd let them down.

Rin was right. She was pathetic.

'Everyone...'

"Hey!" Meiko's voice snapped, bringing Byakuya out of her thoughts. "Hey, Shion! Snap out of it!"

"...Aikawa-san." Byakuya responded, somewhat surprised.

"You sure took your time." Meiko sighed as she supported herself by propping her elbows on the edge of the pool. She was two lanes away, but the swimmer from the lane in between the two of them had already gotten out, allowing space for them to converse. "Had me worried a bit."

"Eh?"

"You did good out there, Shion." The brunette said firmly, staring Byakuya dead in the eye. "Don't feel too down about it- there's always next year."

"But, my team-"

"Will understand." Meiko said, cutting Byakuya off seriously. "That's what being a team is about- understanding and acceptance. Don't forget that, Shion."

"Aikawa-san..." Byakuya trailed off, staring at the older girl. What was she trying to say?

"I look forward to seeing you race next year." Meiko said simply, before she lifted herself out of the pool. This time, the hidden message behind her words were not lost on Byakuya.

'Don't give up.'

"Also," Meiko called out, turning around to look at Byakuya once more as she headed back towards the locker rooms. "Heads up. 12 o'clock."

Byakuya was confused for a moment, looking in the direction Meiko had been talking about. Right as she did so, a hand was held out to her, startling Byakuya. When she finally registered the identity of the figure holding out his hand, she was so shocked she froze up. She simply stared at the auburn-haired young man squatting by the edge of the pool, not quite able to comprehend what she was seeing.

"...Ao-nii?" Byakuya said, her eyes wide in surprise.

"Hey, Turtle." Her brother grinned back at her, his grey eyes kind through the half-rimmed glasses he wore. "I don't mean to be pushy, but get your ass out of the pool already. You're attracting attention."

Byakuya just remained frozen for a while, still staring at her older brother as he patiently waited for her to take his hand. When she finally-though slowly- took it, his smile softened.

"Did you have fun?" He asked quietly as he helped her out of the pool.

Byakuya felt tears welling up in her eyes when he said that, but she forced them back. It was such a familiar feeling, having someone do this. It was like old times, when her mother was still alive and well- when things were better... and when she wasn't such a disappointment.

"Hey, keep your chin up." Aoi said quietly, placing a comforting arm around his little sister as he lead her back to the changing rooms. "You did good, kiddo."

"It wasn't good enough." She replied despondently, eyes glued to the ground. She still couldn't bring herself to look back at the stands...

"No one can win all the time, Turtle. It's not the end of the world."

"But-"

"Ah ah ah." Aoi tutted and placed his finger over her lips, effectively stopping her tirade. "You. Inside. Get changed. I'm hungry, and we need to make dinner plans. Go, shoo."

And so, he ushered her into the girls' locker rooms, shutting the door in her face before she could respond.

Despite herself, Byakuya laughed- even though it was short and sounded more like a sob than anything else, it was still a laugh.

Sometimes her brother really knew what to say.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing back in Iwatobi?" Byakuya asked as she sat on a bench outside the changing rooms, her brother sitting right next to her.<p>

Aoi shrugged nonchalantly, idly flipping his bangs to the side with his hand. "Well, when I got that message you saying that you were taking part on a tournament, I got my boss to give me some time off to come and visit. Work is pretty hectic though, so I'm only staying until Monday."

"You took time off from work just to stay two nights?" Byakuya asked, surprised. The town where her brother worked wasn't exactly nearby...

"What can I say? I really wanted to see my sister swim again. It's been a long time." Her brother said wistfully, running a hand through his short auburn hair. "I honestly thought you'd never participate in a race ever again, not since... well, y'know. I wanted to be there to support you, since mom can't. Even if just for one race."

Byakuya smiled sadly, before she continued in a quiet voice. "Yeah. Thanks for being here, Ao-nii... I'm sorry I lost."

"Oi. What's with that face?" Aoi asked.

"I couldn't even win this-"

"Hey, enough of that, alright? What happened to my happy-go-lucky Turtle? " Aoi grinned, locking one arm around her neck while his other fist gave her a noogie.

Byakuya exclaimed in surprise at the action, trying- unsuccessfully- to pry his hands away. "H-hey! Quit it! My hair's gonna tangle!"

"When did that sort of stuff bother ya? Has my tomboy of a sister finally gotten in touch with her feminine side?" Aoi teased.

"Oh, shut up!"

Aoi laughed and gave her one last nudge with his fist before releasing her. Byakuya huffed and tried to run her fingers through her messy wet locks- they had gotten tangled after all- but she couldn't help but laugh right along with her brother.

After the laughter died down, however, Byakuya fell silent as she considered something. Wasn't this what an older brother was supposed to be like? Kind, caring, loving... did Rin ever treat Kou the same way Aoi did her, these days? Had he just abandoned his own sister? Just like he'd abandoned them- his friends?

And Haru...

"I saw the race between Haru and Rin, too. You're all pretty messed up now, huh?" Aoi commented quietly- dropping his usual animalistic nicknames for the two boys for once. Byakuya started at the question- it looked like her brother could read her better than she'd thought.

"Yeah. It's been...difficult." she replied. Rin's comment from earlier resounded in her mind- she didn't want to believe it, but her loss in the race just seemed to prove him right...

"You guys'll sort it out. I know you will; you all were pretty damn close... a bond like that doesn't break so easily." Aoi said simply, as if he was completely sure of his words.

Byakuya pondered her brother's words, considering the legitimacy of that statement. Was the bond they had all shared with Rin really as strong as they had assumed it was? Rin had been so nonchalant- almost cruel- about hurting Haru, yet when Haru had beaten him he had been so guilt-ridden he had shut himself in. And now... Haruka was even worse than before. It was like everything they'd done just resulted in failure.

How would they ever piece everything back together?

"...What do I do?" Byakuya whispered as she looked back down at the floor, a pained expression on her face. She slid her hand into her pocket and clutched the Omamori inside- she wasn't just referring to the topic at hand, but also to facing her friends after her inability to win her race. What did they think of her now?

Here, Aoi put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. "I think it's about time you figured that out on your own."

"What?" Byakuya exclaimed, perplexed. Surely he wasn't saying...

"C'mon, up and at 'em, Turtle." Aoi said simply, grasping his sister's arm as he pulled her out of her seat. "It's time to go see your teammates."

"I-I can't!" Byakuya exclaimed, trying to yank her arm away. Aoi held firm though, and didn't let go. "They... I don't think I-"

"Byakuya." Aoi said suddenly, his voice serious. Byakuya paused when he said that- he rarely ever used that tone- let alone drop the nickname he gave her. His grey eyes stared into her own, and Byakuya found her breath catching. People always said how much she looked like her mom, but Aoi- with his auburn hair and facial structure- looked even more so. If not for his glasses, eye colour and more masculine features, it would have been like staring straight into her mother's face...

"It's okay." Aoi said softly, this time more gentle and reassuring. He pulled his sister into a hug- one that she gratefully returned. She wanted to cry again; she was just so frustrated with herself. "It's alright. Trust your big brother, okay? Just take a chance."

"...I'm scared, aniki." Byakuya admitted quietly. She didn't want to take the risk- it was already pressuring enough that others would already be shaking their head at her loss, but her friends... it would be too much.

"I know." Aoi reassured, his grip on his younger sister tightening comfortingly. "But trust me, Byakuya... there are some things you just don't have to worry about."

* * *

><p>"Bya-kun!" "Byakuya-senpai!" "Byaku-chan!"<p>

Byakuya was assaulted from all sides the moment she strode through the entrance, her friends bombarding her with questions as they gazed concernedly at her. Her surprise was evident on her face, and Aoi gave a small chuckle before he took a couple of steps back, giving the teens their space.

"Are you okay, senpai?"

"You didn't even look back at us!"

"Are you hurt anywhere? Did you pull a muscle?"

"E-everyone..." Byakuya stuttered out, still somewhat stunned. They all seemed to be concerned about her, but even so...

"What's the matter, Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked, his voice concerned as he saw the girl's downcast expression.

"...I'm sorry." Byakuya said, lowering her head apologetically. She couldn't even look them in the eye- they must be so disappointed in her...

"What?" Nagisa exclaimed.

"I didn't win. I'm sorry." She apologized.

"Don't be that way!" Nagisa exclaimed, placing both hands on Byakuya's shoulders and prompting her to look up. "It's fine!"

"But I-"

"You don't have to apologize." Makoto interrupted, his voice kind. "You did nothing wrong."

"You said it yourself, senpai." Rei reminded. "Sometimes you have to fall before you learn to stand."

"It's just prefecturals!" Kou added. "We always have next time!"

"Everyone..." Byakuya trailed off, staring at her friends. She didn't understand- they... they weren't upset? Meiko's words came back to her just then...

'That's what being a team is about- understanding and acceptance.'

"You...forgive me?" Byakuya asked, her voice quiet as she fearfully put forth her question.

"Come off it, already." Coach Sasabe sighed, scratching his head in exasperation as he shot the Shion girl a meaningful look. "There's nothing to forgive!"

"It's like the old Japanese proverb goes- after the rain falls, the earth hardens." Miss Amakata quoted solemnly, before she smiled cheerfully back at her student and continued in a lighter tone. "Adversity builds character, Shion-chan, so all you have to do is learn from this and keep moving forth!"

That was what Meiko had meant- what Aoi had also intended to say. Byakuya had been worried over nothing. Her friends... they didn't care that she'd lost. It didn't matter what anyone else thought- despite her imperfections... her friends accepted her. And theirs were the only opinions that mattered, because they were the ones that truly cared for her.

Her friends had probably meant their reassurances as as a small kindness, but it made Byakuya want to cry. It was like a huge burden had just been lifted off her shoulders in that one instant, and it took all of her strength not to burst into tears as she plastered a grin on her face.

"Thank you, everyone. I... I'm feeling a lot better now." She reassured smilingly. This time, it was genuine.

"That's more like the Bya-kun we know!" Nagisa grinned cheerfully, before glancing back over his shoulder. "Isn't that right, Haru-chan?"

"Haru-kun?" Byakuya repeated, startled. To her utmost surprise, she followed Nagisa's gaze, only to see Haruka standing not too far away. He was just wearing a neutral expression on his face, as always.

"But I thought..." Byakuya trailed off, staring at Haruka. The boy simply met her gaze passively before he glanced away. There was no change in his stoic expression, but that didn't matter to Byakuya.

Haru had come to watch her race.

Byakuya didn't think twice. She just went forth and threw her arms around the boy, hugging him tightly. Haruka stumbled a bit as she did so- he certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"You watched." Byakuya said, her relief evident in her voice. "Thank you so, so much..." She had been so concerned about Haruka, and to think he'd pushed aside his own worries for her sake... she was touched that he was here to support her.

Haruka's surprised expression eventually faded away, and he awkwardly placed a hand on Byakuya's back in return. Even though he remained quiet, he silently thanked Nagisa for coming to get him. After seeing the expression on Byakuya's face as she'd lost her race, he was reminded an awful lot of his own feelings at losing to Rin. Regardless of how he felt now, he couldn't help but feel a bit relieved that his mere presence here had made his friend feel better.

He couldn't help but wonder exactly why that was, though...

"Aww come on. I came to watch your race too!" Aoi said teasingly, moving closer to the group. Byakuya just raised a brow, stepping back from hugging Haruka at her brother's interruption. "I'm your brother, and I don't get a hug? How is that fair?"

"Ah, Aoi!" Makoto greeted, his tone friendly. "I didn't know you were back in town."

"Wanted it to be a surprise." Aoi shrugged. "I'd say it was a decent one."

"It's been a long time, Aoi!" Coach Sasabe said, patting the boy's back enthusiastically. "You're getting a bit scrawny- working life tough on you?"

"I'd like to think I'm slimming down, Coach." Aoi responded lightly. Haruka took this chance to slip away from the group- he still wasn't quite in a festive mood yet, and he didn't want to dampen their happy atmosphere with his despondency.

"Uh, pardon me, but did you really give me the nickname..." Rei trailed off, addressing the auburn-haired man.

"Oh, are you Butterfly? Sweet! Nice to meetcha!"

"So, it was true then..."

Makoto just glanced between his friends, a smile appearing on his face. Byakuya seemed to be cheered up- that made him feel relieved. He had been worried she would have shut down and closed herself off after that race, but he was surprised to see that she seemed fine. He was glad, though, if not a bit perplexed at the sudden change of behaviour. As for Haru...

Makoto turned to look at the stoic teen, who stood some distance away from the group as he watched the swimmers in the pool. Makoto's smile became gentle as he looked at his best friend- he knew Haru still wasn't quite over his loss to Rin, but for now at least, he was here to support his friends. That meant a lot to Makoto, and Byakuya's reaction earlier was an obvious sign that it meant just as much to her as well.

The least they could do in return was to be there for him as well- even if he didn't ask for it either.

* * *

><p>"Ah, that's right!" Byakuya exclaimed suddenly. "How did Nitori-kun's match go? I couldn't catch it earlier..."<p>

"He didn't make it to the finals." Rei replied.

"Ah, no... Really?" Byakuya sighed. She had honestly hoped Nitori would have won his event- it would have been nice if he had...

"Ah well. Why are you so worried about another dude anyway?" Aoi said, stretching his arms above his head as he sat next to Byakuya. "C'mon, Turtle. Orca's going next- be a good girlfriend and cheer him on."

"He's not my boyfriend." Byakuya said exasperatedly.

"Yet." Kou murmured.

"Did you say something, Kou-chan?"

"I was saying that Makoto-senpai's event is starting soon." Kou said, pointing at the first line of swimmers taking part in the backstroke event. Makoto was part of the first batch of swimmers as well; standing by the sidelines as he performed some light warm-up stretches.

"That's the last of the women's free events!" Nagisa said in anticipation as the winner from the previous event was announced. "Mako-chan's next! Go, captain!"

"Show 'em who's boss!" Byakuya hollered as well, cheering for her childhood friend. Even if she was still a bit down, she had to at least try to stay positive for her teammates- it was the least she could do for them.

Makoto took a deep breath as he finished his stretches, bracing himself for his race. His opponents definitely weren't going to be pushovers- adding that to the fact that he hadn't competed in years, too... the odds weren't quite in his favour, even if his time had improved significantly. But even so...

Nagisa and Byakuya's cheer made him glance back towards the stands for a moment, shooting them an appreciative smile. He saw the rest of his team ready to cheer him on, and Haru standing some distance away as well. He gave a small smile- no matter how this turned out, his friends were there to support him. That was all he needed to give it his all.

The announcer gave the swimmers the signal to step up to the starting blocks, and the first batch of swimmers for the men's 100m backstroke event got into the starting positions.

"Alright!" Coach Sasabe announced. "The moment that whistle goes off, we start cheering for the captain! Alright?!"

"Right, Coach!" They all responded enthusiastically. No sooner had they agreed, the whistle blew, and the swimmers dove into the pool. Coach Sasabe wore a determined expression on his face and raised the megaphone to his mouth.

"Go, go, go, go, go, Makoto!" He hollered.

"Go, go, go, go, go, Makoto!" The rest of them echoed, cheering loudly.

"Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, Makoto!"

"Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, Makoto!"

"Not loud enough! You gotta shout from your belly!" Coach Sasabe reprimanded, pointing his megaphone at Rei. "Especially you, Rei! Don't be shy!"

"Y-yes!" Rei responded immediately.

"Go, go, Makoto!" Goro yelled into the megaphone, returning to the cheer. The others echoed the call once more, louder than the first time.

"And turn! That's it!" Coach yelled appraisingly as Makoto got onto the turn. He was going strong, and was neck and neck with another swimmer as they raced for the first place. "Last spurt, last spurt, last spurt!"

"If you win, you get a kiss from Turtle!" Aoi hollered.

"Shut up!" Byakuya yelled back. "Last spurt, last spurt Makoto!"

"Fine! You get a kiss from me, then!"

"Shut up! Go, Mako!"

"Good job!" Coach yelled enthusiastically as Makoto reached the wall. The numbers on the board flashed on, announcing Makoto as second place in the race by barely a fraction of a second.

"Man! Mako-chan was so close!" Nagisa groaned. "He almost had a fast enough time to qualify!"

"He was so close to making the final!" Kou added. Makoto was panting a little as he got out of the pool, a somewhat disappointed expression on his face.

"Ah well, just over a minute for a 100m race is still a pretty good time." Aoi mused thoughtfully. "At least I don't have to kiss him now."

"...I see the family connection, Byakuya-senpai." Rei commented.

"Told you s- Wait, what?" Byakuya deadpanned. Rei didn't answer.

Deciding to ignore that remark, Byakuya turned back to look at the field once more. Makoto was looking somewhat despondent as he gave a small sigh, looking back up at the stands. Upon seeing Haru still watching, however, he gave a small yet genuine smile. He was glad that his friends were there to support him, at least- even if he had lost.

The raven-haired teen started slightly upon seeing Makoto's smile, but simply glanced away nonchalantly. He was somewhat perplexed that his friend would seem so happy just to have him there- he wasn't even really cheering him on like the others were...

* * *

><p>"You got this, Nagi-kun! Kick some ass!" Byakuya cheered enthusiastically, nearly leaning over the railing in excitement and prompting Makoto to pull her back by the collar of her tracksuit in case of any accidents. Nagisa- already wearing his swim cap and goggles- grinned back up at the stands from his place on the field, shooting them a thumbs up.<p>

"Be careful, Byaku-chan." Makoto said reprimandingly, not releasing his hold on her collar just to be safe.

"The last thing we need is for you to fall over the railing." Kou added, frowning at the Shion girl, who rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Again." Aoi muttered under his breath.

"I beg your pardon?" Rei asked in disbelief. Aoi pretended not to hear him.

"They're getting into positions!" Miss Amakata announced eagerly as Nagisa and the other swimmers participating in the breaststroke event got onto the starting blocks. They waited for the signal from the announcer as they got into the starting positions, before diving off as soon as the "Go" was given.

"Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, Nagisa!" Goro yelled into his megaphone. The others repeated the cheer at the top of their lungs, cheering for the Hazuki boy's success.

Away from the bench where they were sitting, Haruka just watched Nagisa as he swam, the awe in his expression never leaving his face. He felt a pang of some foreign emotion as he watched on- the same nostalgic feeling he had earlier sensed when he had seen Makoto and Byakuya racing as well. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it seemed to be getting clearer and clearer with each race his friends swam.

Whatever it was, one thing was certain for the Nanase boy- he definitely didn't regret that Nagisa had brought him out here to watch his friends race.

* * *

><p>On an empty bus in the parking lot of the stadium, Rin sat in one of the seats, his arms crossed behind his head as he gazed at the ceiling of the bus. His red eyes were blank as he replayed Makoto's words over and over in his head...<p>

'Haru thought there was something more. That was why he wanted to race you. And I'm pretty sure you're the one who taught him what that something was, Rin.'

He didn't understand. He was supposed to be free now. Those words shouldn't have bothered him, and yet... they did.

What did this mean?

* * *

><p>Nagisa lowered his head as he stood before his friends in the stands, his eyes clenching shut as he grit his teeth in frustration.<p>

"I couldn't do it!" He cried out frustratedly. He had been hoping so much to win for his team...

"It was close." Coach Sasabe reassured, patting Nagisa's shoulder.

"You made a huge push at the end!" Kou added enthusiastically.

"C'mon, Iwatobi Penguin- You did great." Byakuya said smilingly. The boy seemed somewhat cheered up at their encouraging remarks, and shot them a small smile. He really was grateful for these guys.

"I believe it's finally my turn." Rei said, standing as he did so and adjusting his glasses in his trademark fashion

"Will you be okay, Rei-chan?" Nagisa inquired. He had seemed awfully nervous before, but now he had his usual confident expression back on.

"I've got this." Rei said nonchalantly, violet eyes shining with determination. "Despite how I may look, I'm better in an actual competition."

"You sure?" Byakuya said skeptically. "You were practically a wreck earlier."

"That was simply the initial shock I was feeling." Rei defended. "As if something so trivial would bother me to such an extent."

"That's Rei-chan for you!" Nagisa said cheerfully.

"I shall not disappoint." Rei said determinedly. The others all gave him an encouraging nod as he left the stands.

"Good luck!" Aoi cheered, before he turned back to the others and deadpanned. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't believe him for one second."

"Maybe he's the kind that gets over his nerves easily?" Kou suggested.

"Well, it is Ryugazaki-san's first time competing..." Miss Amakata mused. They then got into a light discussion regarding Rei, which soon trailed off into another topic altogether. Byakuya glanced over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of Haru, who still remained standing where he was up near the entrance to the stands. He was was watching the other swimmers down in the pool as they swam, a somewhat distant expression in his sapphire gaze. Byakuya frowned slightly- what could he be thinking about...?

"He'll be fine." Makoto reassured quietly, prompting Byakuya to turn back towards him. He wore that same reassuring smile on his face like he always did whenever he talked about his best friend's attitude.

"You sure about that?" Byakuya asked skeptically, her hand automatically reaching up to rub her forehead in concern. Makoto just caught her hand in midair, and gave her a playfully reprimanding look.

"You know you'll get lines on your forehead if you keep doing that." He scolded lightly before he continued. "And don't worry- Haru knows what he's doing. Right now, let's just focus on supporting Rei."

"...Right." Byakuya complied, turning back to look at the field. After a few beats of silence, she turned back to Makoto, her face slightly flushed. "Um, Mako... you can let go of my hand now."

"It's no problem." Makoto shrugged. "I don't mind it."

"Th-that's not the point..." Byakuya muttered, her blush darkening as she turned her face away.

"Would you prefer it if I let go?" He asked, tilting his head.

"...No. This is fine." Byakuya mumbled, still not looking back at Makoto. Makoto just gave a small laugh as he smiled at her- after the last two times he'd held her hand, one would think she was used to it. Not that he minded, though- there was some amount of amusement he gained from making her embarrassed.

Aoi silently observed the exchange the two teens were having out of the corner of his eye, his expression blank and his grey eyes solemn as they fixed upon their interlocked hands. After a moment, though, his lips twitched upwards into a victorious smirk.

He totally called it.

* * *

><p>"Ready..."<p>

Rei was sweating profusely as he got into the starting position along with the other competitors taking part in the butterfly event. He was going to swim soon, and the mere thought was making his stomach churn nervously. He dearly hoped he would do well...

Up in the stands, Aoi just scoffed smugly. He loved it when he was right- Rei really was still a nervous wreck. Byakuya elbowed him in the gut when he pointed it out.

"Go!"

And they dove in. As usual, Rei's dive was perfectly streamlined, the splash not overly large and the distance just right.

"Wow, his form is perfect." Coach Sasabe mused, impressed. He never would have guessed that a beginner swimmer would be able to achieve such perfect form in such a short period of time. Aoi, however, frowned as he leaned forth in his seat, squinting as he gazed intently at the bluenette.

"Does he normally get that kind of distance with his butterfly?" Aoi asked, his tone skeptical.

"No." Byakuya responded, frowning as well. Something was off. "He's normally faster-"

"Huh?" Kou suddenly exclaimed, pointing eagerly at the bluenette. "Look at Rei-kun's goggles!"

"Ah! They slid off!" Nagisa exclaimed. True enough, Rei's goggles had slid down his nose and below his eyes, thus hindering the Ryugazaki boy's vision in the water.

"It must've happened when he dove in!" Makoto added in disbelief- talk about a stroke of bad luck. Goro immediately sensed the drop in morale, and quickly picked up his megaphone again.

"Go, go, go, go, go, Rei!" Sasabe yelled, prompting the others to follow suit as they repeated after the coach for every cheer. Despite their small number, their cheers were the loudest in the whole stand. They were determined to let Rei know that they were still backing him up, no matter how bad things seemed.

Haruka- once again- couldn't tear his eyes away from Rei as he swam the butterfly, pushing forth determinedly despite his currently impaired vision. To think that Rei- the newest of them all- was able to put his all into his efforts despite the difficulties... and to see the others supporting him all the way...

Haruka's azure eyes gleamed with an unidentifiable emotion as he came to a decision- as soon as this race was over, he was getting out of here.

He had way too many things to think about right now.

* * *

><p>AN: I imagine Aoi to look similar to Ittoki from Uta no Pri. But I have no particular qualms about specifics- ya'll can go ahead and imagine him in any way you see fit. Also, I do hope Byakuya's mood change this chapter wasn't too sudden- the same goes for Aoi. It was somewhat intentional, to show how they can change acts around other people so as to not worry others until a more personal moment. Do let me know if it wasn't believeable. (I do notice this is the second time I've asked something like this, but I'm just really hesitant about character portrayals sometimes, haha!)<p>

On a somewhat unrelated note- woohoo! We hit over 10000 views on this story! Well... I have to say I honestly never expected to get this far, haha! Thanks to everyone who has read this story- even if only for a quick peek! As usual, I shall grant my cyber hugs unto Shizuka Kitsune and MyFriendsAreMyPower for reviewing, Xrupa for doing the above as well as favouriting this fic, UniversalMonkey for following and favouriting this story, Lumihiutale89 for adding my story and profile to your favourites, and LittleCross, 030artistic, lt199798 and hetalialover99 for following this story! I'm glad to see ya'll still sticking around despite the fact that I'm a cruel, cruel author, haha!


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"I apologize." Rei said to the others as they all stood out in the parking lot of the stadium. The last event of the day had taken place, and it was already late afternoon as everything was wrapped up. "I wasn't good enough."

"You shouldn't say that!" Miss Amakata said insistently. "You managed to swim a personal best- that's a great thing!"

"You might even have qualified if your goggles hadn't slipped off!" Nagisa added optimistically.

"Eh, that seems a little far-fetched..." Rei said skeptically.

"Oh c'mon, and you all thought I was the one who needed cheering up?" Byakuya joked as she raised a brow. "You did amazingly, Rei-kun, and I know for sure you would have done a heck of a lot better if your goggles had stayed on."

"T-thank you for your encouragements." Rei said to his teammates, pushing up his glasses embarrassedly. Even if he didn't quite believe that he really would have qualified for the finals, he appreciated the sentiment.

"In any case, everyone performed well." Miss Amakata said encouragingly as she twirled her umbrella over her shoulder. "Excellent work!"

"There's a sense of accomplishment, right?" Nagisa said cheefully.

"Yeah." Makoto added, determined to keep his team's spirits up. "Let's start preparing for the next tournament."

"Oh! Where's Nanase-kun?" Miss Amakata said suddenly, looking around as she did so. The others started at the statement themselves, all peering around as they searched for the Nanase boy's presence among them- he was normally so quiet they hadn't even noticed his absence.

"Dolphin left the stands after Butterfly's race." Aoi said. "Didn't you guys notice?"

"It looks like he left without us." Nagisa laughed sheepishly, though he had a feeling he knew all too well why Haru had left. He idly wondered if he was at fault for making Haru uncomfortable by dragging him out to watch the race...

"Eh? Really?!" Kou exclaimed. Makoto just gave her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, He wasn't feeling well." He said, trying to cover up Haru's absence by passing it off as normal. Byakuya just gave a small frown- where could Haru have gone?

"Oh... I guess it can't be helped, then." Miss Amakata said, believing the excuse Makoto had given in Haruka's place. She then turned to Kou, her expression knowing. "Matsuoka-san, can you take it from here?"

"Yes." Kou responded, nodding in affirmation. The teacher was the only one who knew about what she had done for the team behind their backs...

"Then, I'll be leaving now." Miss Amakata said cheerily, waving at the teens as she headed off to her car. Even if none of them had really won their races, she was rather proud of them. Being the first club she had ever facilitated, she would give them all the support they needed. Coach Sasabe moved to retrieve his own vehicle as well- the usual white pizza delivery vehicle he normally drove.

"It's been a while since I've gotten my blood pumping!" He said, grinning at the teens as he put on his helmet before he drove off. "Nice job! See ya!"

"...He came here on that?" Makoto said hesitantly, sweatdropping at the sight.

"Is his work gonna be okay with that?" Nagisa wondered aloud.

"I highly doubt it." Aoi responded, his eye twitching- even he was appalled. The six of them just stood there as they watched Coach Sasabe drive out of sight, the light of the setting sun washing over them.

"...It's over." Nagisa sighed, placing his hands behind his back as he spoke about the events of the day.

"Yeah." Makoto responded.

"It would have been nice if we could have gone to regionals." Rei said wistfully.

"After we practiced so hard, I was thinking at least one of us might make it through. But it's a lot harder than that in reality." Makoto added, his voice somewhat dejected.

"Even so..." Byakuya said slowly, her eyes softening. "I think I learned more about swimming today than I have all the previous times. This day wasn't a complete loss."

"That's just the way it is. You have to experience something before you can truly understand it." Aoi added, smiling at the younger kids. All so young, with so much potential... he was impressed- and not just because of their swimming capabilities.

"I have to agree." Rei added, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "There's a lot more to swimming than I realized. Understanding it in theory isn't enough to win... I'm getting fired up."

"Well, it's a little late for that." Nagisa said sheepishly. It was a pity, really- he was pretty pumped up, himself...

"No." Kou said suddenly, her tone serious. "It's not too late."

That took them all aback. They shot curious and surprised looks at the Matsuoka girl, not understanding what she meant.

"There's still the second day of the tournament tomorrow!" Kou declared, turning around to face them, her eyes ablaze with determination and drive.

"But the events we entered were all today!" Nagisa exclaimed, perplexed.

"The second day is the individual medley and the relay..." Makoto mused, before he gave a small gasp as he made a realization. "Gou-chan, don't tell me that-"

"I'm sorry!" Kou cried, stepping in front of them as she clasped her hands together and bowed apologetically. "I signed you up for the medley relay in secret!"

"What?!" Nagisa, Makoto and Rei exclaimed, their shoulders tensing up. They couldn't believe it- they were signed up for a relay? They hadn't had time to practice for that kind of event!

"That's great!" Aoi exclaimed with a grin on his face.

"It really isn't." Byakuya corrected blandly. "They didn't practice for a relay."

"Oh. Well then this is a problem." Aoi responded sheepishly."But how bad can it be?"

"I also signed Byakuya-chan up for the individual medley." Kou added sheepishly.

"You WHAT?!" Byakuya cried.

"Yeah. You're all doomed." Aoi deadpanned.

"I told Miss Amakata about it..." Kou confessed, somewhat ashamed that she hadn't said anything to her teammates earlier.

"So, if we win our events..." Nagisa mused aloud.

"We can go to regionals." Kou finished, her expression firm.

"That's crazy! This is too sudden." Makoto interjected, his tone urgent. "We didn't practice at all for those events!"

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Nagisa asked curiously. He would have thought Kou would have known better and at least informed them...

"Because it sounded like Haruka-senpai didn't want to be in a relay." Kou said despondently. She had hoped that if Haru had won his race against her brother, he would have been in a good enough mood to consent to joining the relay. But now...

"What's your excuse for me, though?" Byakuya asked. She'd asked partially out of curiosity and partially out of annoyance.

"Onii-chan used to talk about how you were one of the best at individual medleys. But then you stopped for some reason..." Kou paused, shooting Byakuya a nervous glance. "I wasn't sure if you would consent to it for prefecturals."

"Kou-chan..." Byakuya trailed off. The last time she'd swam for an individual medley was ages ago. They used to be her mother's forte- her Olympic event. Byakuya had stopped swimming relays specifically because it reminded her too much of her late mother, and she couldn't help but feel guilty that her actions had made Kou feel so unsure as to sign her up for the medley without her knowledge.

"Let's do it." Rei said suddenly, his voice determined.

"Ah? Rei-chan?!" Nagisa exclaimed, surprised at the boy's directness. The others wore similar expressions as they stared at the Ryugazaki boy in surprise.

"This is our last chance." Rei justified firmly. "We haven't practiced for a relay, but it's still worth a shot!"

The others started at that and turned towards each other, contemplating the boy's words. Upon seeing Rei's point, they turned back to face Rei, wearing the same looks of determination on their faces that he did as they nodded affirmitavely.

"You're right." Byakuya added, smiling slightly. "Theres no harm in trying."

"Only one problem..." Aoi said slowly, raising his index finger. "Turtle's gonna be fine on her own, but the rest of you... your team needs four swimmers, and Dolphin doesn't know yet."

"Then we go and get Haru-chan!" Nagisa declared. "We'll get him to join the relay!"

"Do you think he's at his home?" Rei inquired.

"I don't know..." Makoto said, before he looked back at his teammates with a look of determination. "But there's no harm in looking."

"Right!" They all responded, eager to move out and seek Haruka.

"I can give you all a lift if you want." Aoi said, adjusting his glasses. "Your folks all okay with you all staying out?"

"Are you sure?" Byakuya asked in concern. "You just drove back from Tokyo- aren't you tired?"

"Your teammate needs you- just as you need him." Aoi said, smirking at them. "And so help me I'll do what I can to help you guys bring Dolphin to his senses."

They all grinned at that. Aoi knew what having a team was like- after all, he himself had been a swimmer once, and he knew of the bonds a team shared. The fact that he was willing to help them to find their friend was also something they were entirely grateful for- every second counted.

"Thank you!"

* * *

><p>By the time Aoi had pulled up at Haru's house, it was already nighttime. The Iwatobi bunch barely hesitated to rush out of the car, barely able to squeeze in a quick "thank you for the lift" before they exited. Byakuya made a move to exit the car as well, before she paused.<p>

"Are you coming, Ao-nii?" She asked.

"Nah." Aoi said, shrugging casually. "I have a feeling this is more of a personal thing for you guys- I'll just wait outside. I'll drive you guys to the station too, if that's necessary."

"...Thank you." Byakuya said gratefully, before she hesitated slightly. "Ao-nii, I know you just got back and all, and I want to spend some time catching up with you as well, but with things the way they are..."

"Just go." Aoi said, shooting Byakuya an encouraging smile. "And make sure Dolphin figures out the same thing you did today."

He didn't need to elaborate for Byakuya to understand what he meant. The Shion girl steeled herself as she gave her brother a firm nod, her face serious and determined.

"I will." She stated firmly.

"Atta girl." Aoi smirked, patting Byakuya proudly of the back- it would seem that his sister finally understood what he had been telling her all along. "Now go knock some sense into Dolphin. Call me if you need a crowbar or ropes or anything."

"Trust me, if it comes down to that, I'll be sure to contact you." Byakuya responded, smirking at her brother. Aoi just laughed, pushing his sister forward to get her moving.

"Good luck, Turtle." He said, grinning. "Give 'em hell."

Byakuya nodded determinedly, shooting her brother a confident smirk as she got out of the car, rushing to catch up to her friends. Aoi just smiled as he watched his little sister run up to the rest of the team- it looked like Haru wasn't in, but that didn't stop them.

"No luck! He isn't home yet!" Rei announced as Makoto tried- unsuccessfully- to open the front door. "I don't think-"

"Back door!" Byakuya called out immediately, interrupting Rei before he could complete his sentence.

"We can enter upstairs!" Makoto exclaimed, running around to the back of the house.

"Got it!" Nagisa called back, rushing to keep up with the Tachibana boy. Kou followed suit without hesitation.

"Uh, wait! Is this really okay?!" Rei asked worriedly as he ran after the others.

"Trust me! Been doin' it for years!" Came Byakuya's rushed reply.

Aoi's gave a small chuckle as he stared at his sister, who was interacting so freely with her friends as they sought to find their absent teammate. He recalled what she was like all those years ago- a scared, lonely thirteen year-old who clung to his arm and begged him not to leave her. Now... now she had changed so much- and not just physically. She was a stronger, braver young lady who had been matured by the hardships thrown her way. She was so different from that little girl he'd left behind back then...

But no matter how much she changed, she would always be his little sister.

* * *

><p>"He's not on the second floor!" Nagisa announced as he practically threw open the doors to Haruka's room. Empty.<p>

"He's not in the bath!" Kou cried out as well as she checked the toilet. No Haruka soaking in the tub like her normally did...

"Kitchen's a 'no'!" Byakuya announced as she ran out from the dining room. She had guessed that hoping Haru was cooking again was a long shot...

As they continued rushing around the house searching every nook and cranny to find the elusive Nanase boy, Rei just walked along somewhat uncomfortably in the main hall, unsure if what they were doing would be considered polite. Hesitantly, he called out to his friends.

"You shouldn't run around someone's house when they're not-"

Rei cut himself off suddenly when something caught his eye. He walked towards the shelf lining the wall of the living room- right up to the spot where a blue trophy was placed. Rei picked up the picture next to the trophy- the very thing that had caught his attention. Haruka and the others were all inside the photo as they wore victorious grins on their faces- from the medals hanging around their necks, they had evidently won a competition. However, that wasn't what intrigued Rei the most.

In the centre of the photo, a familiar redhead had his arm thrown around the young Haruka as he grinned happily at the camera while brandishing a trophy- the one currently sitting on the shelf. Even though age had definitely changed his features, there was no mistaking that the boy in the photo was none other than the very same boy that they had encountered earlier that day- Rin Matsuoka.

Rei stared at the photo intensely, making the connection between the events earlier that day with what this photo implied. So, the five of them really had been close as kids... why hadn't anyone thought to inform him of this earlier? Why was Matsuoka so cold to them now? Just what had happened between these guys to tear such a rift between them?

From the sidelines, Byakuya paused from her task of searching the house as she watched Rei silently. She made no move to interrupt him- she knew by this point that the Ryugazaki boy was intelligent enough to be connecting the dots in his head. He would make the connection for himself, and soon he would ask for answers.

And Byakuya knew if they didn't give Rei the answers he wanted, he would do his darndest find a way to get them somehow.

Outside, Makoto looked up into the night sky at the silvery moon which cast its faint light over the town of Iwatobi. Somewhere, Haruka was looking up at the very same moon, yet they still had no idea where he could be...

"Haru..." He murmured to no one in particular. Where was he now...?

"Let's wait for him to return." Rei said suddenly, catching everyone's attention. They all stopped moving about abruptly as they considered what the Ryugazaki boy was saying. As they did, Nagisa's face fell slightly, the sketchy situation finally taking its toll on the usually lighthearted boy.

"Will Haru-chan agree to swim in the relay?" He asked worriedly, a solemn look on his face. He really didn't know what to think of this situation right now...

And as much as his friends wanted to reassure him, even they couldn't say for sure this time. That was the simple truth, but even then... they still clung to that tiny sliver of hope.

* * *

><p>At the pool of the Iwatobi High School, the clothes of a familiar raven-haired teen were strewn across the poolside. The owner of said clothes hadn't bothered with neatness as he had just stripped down to his swimsuit and dove into the pool, disregarding everything else as he sought to escape the internal struggle he found himself in. However, not even the stinging cold of the water could take his mond off his worries, and he was left floating in the water of the pool as he gazed into the clear night sky.<p>

'...What was it I really wanted?' Haruka asked himself. It was the question that had haunted him all day since he had lost to Rin, and he still couldn't find an answer. He'd suffered all that guilt from beating Rin in that race all those years ago, tried so hard to bring Rin back to his senses, struggled so much to get his friend back, and yet...

Shouldn't he be glad for Rin's success? Wasn't that what it had all been about? As long as Rin was able to move on, shouldn't he have been happy? Didn't he not care for winning? So why...

Haruka took a deep breath before diving into the pool, propelling himself slowly through the depths- to any onlooker, it would have looked as though he was dancing through the water as he twisted and turned with the flow. While this normally would have been enough to calm Haru's soul, this time the internal strife going on within him just kept eating away at him, causing uneasiness and stress in his mind.

'What was I trying to do?' He wondered once more as he turned on his back in the water, letting himself sink to the floor of the pool. Once more, he gazed up at the moon through the water, the view of its light shimmering and shifting with the flowing water. His face was blank and void of all emotion as his blue eyes gazed mournfully at the night sky, wondering if he could ever set things right again. All that he had done, all that he had tried so hard to achieve...

'What was it all for?'

* * *

><p>Byakuya stared up at the brightly shining full moon, which illuminated the night with its silvery light. She was lying horizontally on the back porch of Haru's home next to Makoto, her expression blank as she gazed up at the clear night sky. The shoji doors leading to the garden had been opened wide, connecting both the living room and the porch where the teens eagerly waited for Haru's return. It had to have been at least an hour since they'd gotten here...<p>

Byakuya reached her hand up, her closed fingers hiding the view of the moon from her line of sight. Such a small gesture, and yet, it was able to obscure the light entirely. She wondered if that was the same for Haru- the race with Rin being the one small move that blocked his light.

"He's still not home." Kou said despondently, glancing up at the clock as she sat at the table in the living room with Nagisa and Rei. It was already 9 o'clock...

"Where'd he go?" Nagisa asked worriedly. It was so late- shouldn't Haru have been home by now? It had been hours...

"What if..." Rei trailed off, his expression solemn as his eyes were glued to the table. His sentence was left hanging, leaving the others to speculate what he meant. Byakuya tensed up as she made a guess as to what Rei had been about to say- it certainly wasn't something pleasant. Haruka had been extremely upset at his loss, and Byakuya knew very well what that felt like. If Meiko hadn't called out to her, or if Aoi hadn't shown up when he had and led her back to the others, who knows what she might have gone and done...

"Rei-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, standing up and slamming his hands on the table for emphasis. That was enough to snap everyone's attention back to him. The Hazuki boy was staring intently at Rei, his eyes alight with a strong- but almost terrified- emotion. "Don't say scary stuff like that with that look on your face!"

"I didn't say anything yet!" Rei said defensively, somewhat surprised at Nagisa's outburst before his expression solemned. "But..."

"Don't worry." Makoto cut in reassuringly, turning around briefly to address his friends sitting in Haru's living room. "Haru's not that weak."

Here, Makoto also reached his hand up to grasp Byakuya's outstretched one, lowering it back down- the girl hadn't retracted it earlier as she got lost in her musings. Byakuya shot him an inquisitive glance, but he just looked back at her with a soft smile.

"And you should stop worrying so much, too." He said quietly, running his thumb over her knuckles.

"I'm not worried." Byakuya responded, ignoring the warmth that suddenly flooded her cheeks. "I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid..."

"He won't." Makoto reassured once more, absolutely sure of what he was saying. "Trust me- Haru is a lot stronger than that."

"I wish I could read him as well as you can..." Byakuya sighed, turning back to face the sky again. She'd known Haru for so long, and yet... she only just realized how little she really knew about him. How would they ever reach him...

An idea came to Byakuya just then, and she shifted her gaze to her friends sitting in the living room. "Hey, has anyone tried contacting his-"

"Oh, his cell phone!" Nagisa interrupted suddenly, snapping his fingers in realization. "Let's call him!"

"Haruka-senpai has a cell phone?!" Kou exclaimed. While said piece of technology was rather common for most people, she'd never actually considered that Haruka had one. If the design of his house was any indication, Haruka seemed to be the type of person who preferred more traditional and cultural things.

"Why didn't you say anything before this?" Rei cried exasperatedly, though his excitement and eagerness at possibly contacting Haruka was rising with each second.

"Well, I never actually see Haru-chan using his phone..." Nagisa said sheepishly. However, he quickly took out his own pink cellphone, scrolling eagerly through his contacts as he searched for Haru's number.

"You're welcome..." Byakuya sighed, though she wasn't really all that serious with her snark this time. She got up from her spot, walking over to join the others as Nagisa tried to call Haruka on his phone. Makoto just returned his gaze back to the night sky, not really wanting or bothering to join the others with trying to contact Haru. He was glad to see that his friends were trying to help Haru out as well, however he didn't feel the need to do anything special himself- he would wait for Haru to come to his senses on his own. The others could handle everything else, if it made them feel more assured.

Plus, he knew something the others didn't- though he didn't stop them anyway.

"He's not answering!" Nagisa cried as the phone line redirected him to voice mail.

"Leave a message!" Rei said insistently. Even if they couldn't speak directly to Haruka, the least they could do was try.

"Haru-chan, where are you right now?" Nagisa asked concernedly. He really hoped nothing bad had happened to his friend...

"Please hurry home." Rei added as he took the phone from Nagisa, voicing his own worries as well. While Makoto had reassured them that Haruka would ever contemplate anything drastic, it didn't stop him from being concerned. "We're all worried."

"Oi, make sure you get back soon, or I'll hunt you down and drag your ass back myself." Byakuya added seriously once she'd taken the phone from Rei. Kou immediately asked for the phone after that, and Byakuya passed it to her without hesitation.

"I'm so sorry, Haruka-senpai!" Kou pleaded as she spoke into the phone, her expression tense. She really hoped her senior wouldn't be mad at her for what she had done. "I signed you all up for the medley relay!"

"Yeah, so let's all swim together tomorrow, Haru-chan!" Nagisa said once he took the phone back from Kou. Rei immediately tried to take the phone as well, resulting in him speaking into the phone while Nagisa still held on to it.

"I'll be fine!" He said quickly. "I'll have the theory memorized by tomorrow!"

"Rei-chan, that's a sure sign you'll fail!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"Then I just have to memorize the theory for how to not fail, as well!" Rei responded determinedly. However, just at that moment the voice mail announced that the mail recording had reached its limit, cutting them off from continuing their intended message. The four teens were left staring blankly at the phone, not quite believing the kind of message they had left.

"...Will Haruka-senpai come home after listening to that sloppy message?" Kou asked hesitantly. It really was quite messy, and she wondered if it would only serve to annoy the stoic senior.

"Of course." Byakuya responded. "He'll probably come back right away to chase us out of his house."

"Is that really the only conclusion you can come to...?" Rei deadpanned. He couldn't believe that the Shion girl could still find the time to crack a joke- that is, if it had even been a joke in the first place... he really couldn't tell at this point.

"It'll be okay!" Nagisa announced determinedly. "Our chaotic message will have what it takes to touch Haru-chan deep down!"

Suddenly, he paused, seeing a small, blinking green light coming from the table at the far corner of the room.

"Wait..." He said, blinking at the sight before he blanched. "Haru-chan left his cell phone here?!"

"What?!" The others all exclaimed, blanching right along with Nagisa.

"Haru usually doesn't carry his phone around with him." Makoto explained from his place on the porch. They all sighed at that- why hadn't he said so sooner?

"It's getting late." Makoto continued, addressing them once more. "We should head home."

"But..." Kou trailed off, not sure what else they could probably do if they were to stay anyway.

"I don't think Haru will swim tomorrow." Makoto said quietly, his eyes cast down to the floor. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but he had to tell them what he honestly thought was the case. "We'll have to forfeit."

That made everyone solemn up. They knew Makoto knew Haru better than anyone else, and if he thought that Haru wasn't going to swim... he was probably right. As dejected as that thought made them feel, they couldn't deny its probability.

"It's still worth a shot." Byakuya said suddenly, catching everyone's attention. The girl looked back at them evenly as she spoke, her brown eyes determined. "There's still time yet. Let's just wait and see, alright?"

The others blinked at that, not quite believing that the female senior was still being positive about this whole situation. For someone who was normally the realist, this optimism was unexpected. Byakuya just shot them a light smirk, turning back to look at Haru's phone once more.

"We'll figure something out." She finished quietly. There were a few beats of silence after she said that, before Nagisa eventually smiled and turned back to Rei and Kou.

"Let's let Haru-chan take it from here, then." He said, smiling cheerfully.

"I suppose there's not much else we can do by staying here." Rei consented, adjusting his glasses as he stood. "Let's hope Haruka-senpai returns home soon."

"I'll call you guys if he does." Makoto said as he stepped into the living room. "You all should get home before your folks start worrying."

"Ao-nii said he's willing to send you guys to the station." Byakuya added. "You'd best hurry before the trains stop running."

"Ah! That's right!" Nagisa exclaimed, grabbing onto Rei's arm as he rushed to the front door in a panic. "C'mon, you guys!"

"W-wait up, Nagisa-kun!" Rei stuttered out as Nagisa- once again- dragged him out the door. Kou made to follow them as well, before she turned back towards the other two seniors.

"Are you staying here?" She inquired. It would make sense- seeing as both of them lived just nearby.

"Yeah." Makoto replied. "I think I'll wait for Haru to come home, at least."

"I'm just staying as long as Ao-nii lets me." Byakuya shrugged. She would stay later if she could, but as long as her brother was back she had to stick to his curfew. Lenient though he was, there was no way Aoi would let her stay out so late- especially not with a boy, even if it was Makoto.

"I see." Kou nodded, before she shot her two seniors a determined smile. "Good luck- and please look after Haruka-senpai!"

"Alright." Makoto responded, waving at the younger girl as she went out the door. Byakuya just shot Kou a small smile- really, those juniors were great friends to have around.

Idly, she walked back towards the shoji doors and made to close them. She paused briefly as she gazed up at the moon once again, her mind wandering back to the thoughts she'd had earlier. If a small move could hide the light from view...

She raised her hand again, only this time she spread her fingers wide open. While still somewhat obscured, the rays of the moonlight managed to peek through the cracks. All it took was an equally small move to let the light seep in again- just by reaching out and opening your hand, the light would find a way through.

'Please, Haru-kun... just let us in.'

* * *

><p>"You knew that Haru rarely carries his phone with him." Makoto said casually, addressing the Shion girl once everyone else had gone. Both he and Byakuya were sitting at the table the others had been sitting at earlier, the latter idly tapping her nails on the surface of the table.<p>

"Yep. So did you." Byakuya accused. She barely even glanced back up at him as she answered. She wasn't being rude- rather, she was just exhausted.

"...I see." Makoto said knowingly as he gave a small smile. Despite her seemingly casual state of mind, Byakuya could be very subtle and almost manipulative when she wanted to be. Her move earlier had been intentional, then- she'd wanted them to leave that message. However, Makoto's voice softened as he put forth his next question. "But... Are you sure you're okay with swimming an individual medley tomorrow?"

Byakuya paused her finger-tapping when she heard that, hesitating for a moment. Makoto knew about her insecurities regarding that particular event- he'd been there the last time she'd swam in one, after all. But even so...

"Yes." Byakuya replied, her tone even. She knew what she had to do.

"You sure?" Makoto inquired once more. He wasn't certain that she was being entirely truthful, but what she said next made him blink in surprise.

"I need to move on and stop living in the past. And... I think this is the way to do it." Byakuya replied, meeting Makoto's gaze as she answered. "Besides, I know now that you guys will always have my back... so I'm not going to let fear hold me back. I'll do this- for all of us."

Makoto couldn't help but be taken slightly aback at Byakuya's firm answer. She'd seemed rather despondent earlier that day, yet now she seemed more confident- stronger, almost. Something had evidently changed for her- it must have occured sometime after her race...

Makoto smiled. He had a pretty good feeling Aoi had something to do with this.

"I have faith in you." Makoto responded kindly, ruffling her hair as he said so.

"Thanks, Mako." Byakuya said gratefully, before pushing his hand away in mock-annoyance. There was a moment of silence before Byakuya's expression became thoughtful and she mused aloud. "I wonder what Haru-kun's thinking now. Do you know, by any chance, Mako?"

"Not this time." Makoto replied, shrugging. That wasn't a lie- he really was unsure of Haru's state of mind at the moment since nothing like this had ever happened before. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't hope for the best."

"Right. We'll reach him somehow." Byakuya responded, feeling a bit more reassured.

"You know, cheering up someone as negative as you gets really tiresome sometimes." Makoto joked lightly, flicking Byakuya's nose.

"Oh, be quiet." Byakuya scolded good-naturedly, laughing as she pushed away Makoto's hand again.

"There it is." Makoto said all of a sudden, his smile widening. Byakuya just blinked at him, perplexed.

"Huh?"

"I haven't heard you laugh in a while." Makoto said, shooting her a gentle look. "I missed hearing it."

"D-don't say such embarrassing things..." Byakuya muttered, turning her head away. Makoto just gave a small laugh.

"Are you feeling better, at least?" He asked.

"...Yes. I am." Byakuya said, giving him a grateful smile.

"Good." He responded, patting her head gently. This time, she didn't brush his hand away.

"Ah! That's right..." Byakuya exclaimed suddenly, digging around in her pockets. She eventually brought out the Omamori charm he had given her earlier, handing it back to him. "Thanks for lending it to me."

"...Keep it." Makoto responded softly, removing his hand from her head and instead closing her outstretched palm, in which she held the charm.

"Ah?"

"Think of it as my gift to you." Makoto replied, quickly adding onto that statement before she could interrupt. "And don't even think about protesting- I'm not having any of it."

"...Thank you. I'm glad to have you here, Mako." Byakuya thanked sincerely, smiling up at her childhood friend. Their eyes met, and for a long moment, neither could look away.

Makoto suddenly found it very difficult to swallow. From this distance, he couldn't help but notice some of Byakuya's less prominent features- things like how long her eyelashes were, or how her tanned her skin was now from all that swimming. And those lips...

"Makoto?" Byakuya asked hesitantly upon seeing the change in the Tachibana boy's expression- he looked almost... dazed. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. It's just..." Makoto trailed off, not taking his eyes off her lips. They were only a few inches apart- it would be so easy to claim them. Not to mention that they were alone now...

So what was he waiting for?

Byakuya's eyes widened in shock as Makoto slowly started to lean forth, his face coming very much closer to her own. Her mind suddenly started spinning as she realized what he was going to do, and she tensed up instinctively. She wasn't ready for this! This was going too fast! She needed to wait for her brain to catch up! And why the heck were his eyes falling shut? What part of the kissing handbook said that you had to close your eyes when you kissed someone? Was there even a handbook? Because she really needed one right now. She was going to faint...

But she was also sort of looking forward to it. Damn her conflicting emotions.

Forcing herself to remain still, Byakuya hesitantly squeezed her own eyes shut as well. Her heart palpitated in her chest as Makoto came even closer, till she could feel his warm breath against her lips-

And right at that moment, Byakuya's cellphone buzzed, announcing the arrival of a new message. The two teens' attentions were redirected towards the source of the noise; the moment between them broken. The two of them jerked away from each other almost immediately, their faces turning beet red as they averted their gazes.

Eager to focus her attention elsewhere, Byakuya quickly shoved the Omamori in her hand into her pocket and took out her phone, quickly reading the message she had received- it was from her brother.

'On the way back. Want me to pick you up, or do you want some more time to make out with your boyfriend while he walks you back?'

Byakuya's eye twitched.

"T-that must be Aoi." Makoto suggested. He couldn't help but feel rather awkward after that sudden interruption... and somewhat miffed as well.

"Who else?" Byakuya grumbled. "I guess it's time for me to head home."

"I'll walk you back, then?" Makoto offered.

"T-that's alright." Byakuya reassured quickly, standing up from the floor. She still felt the embarrassment from what had almost transpired between her and Makoto... though she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a bit disappointed. "You should wait here for Haru-kun, I can get Ao-nii to drive up and-"

"Just let me walk you back." Makoto interrupted almost exasperatedly as he, too, stood to move towards the front door.

"But Haru-"

"If you don't stop talking, I'll carry you again." Makoto interrupted simply. He refused to let his embarrassment at what had almost happened overrun him- that would simply make things even more awkward then they already were.

Later that night, though, Makoto would find himself clutching his head and groaning over the loss of a very good opportunity to make his feelings known.

"...I'll shut up." Byakuya mumbled, slowly moving to text her brother to not pick her up.

She silently swore that if Aoi made any insinuations regarding her activities once she got home, she would break his nose.

* * *

><p>"Yo. 'Bout time you got back." Aoi greeted as he opened the front door to his house. Byakuya had just returned, and was currently standing on the doorstep while Makoto stood not too far away. "I've been waiting forever."<p>

"You couldn't have been back for more than five minutes." Byakuya corrected simply, before turning back to face the Tachibana boy behind her. "Thanks for walking me back again, Mako."

"It's not a problem." Makoto responded smilingly.

"Make sure you try to get some rest tonight, okay?" Byakuya said sternly. The girl was giving him a somewhat disapproving frown as she continued. "The competition today must have taken a lot out of you, so don't push it."

"Alright, alright. Same to you, too." Makoto chuckled, shaking his head. She could be such a mom sometimes. "Good night, Byakuya."

"Good night, Makoto." Byakuya responded, before heading into her house. "I'm gonna head straight to bed." She announced as she passed Aoi. "Good night, aniki."

"Right. See you in the morning, kiddo." He replied lightheartedly, grinning at his sister as she walked past. As soon as she was out of sight, he turned back to Mako- who hadn't moved from his spot yet-, wearing a slightly more serious expression on his face.

"...So, I'm guessing Haruka hasn't come back yet?" Aoi started casually, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"No. I don't know how long he'll be out, either." Makoto responded.

"I see..." Aoi mused. "I hope he comes around."

"So do I." Makoto replied. Here, his eyes flickered briefly towards the window on the second floor of the Shion household, where he knew Byakuya's room was. He hoped she would be able to sleep tonight- she could keep awake for hours when something was bugging her...

"Makoto." Aoi suddenly called out seriously, gaining Mako's attention immediately.

"Yeah?" Makoto responded, feeling somewhat perplexed- it wasn't often that Aoi dropped the usual nickname he gave him. The auburn-haired young man just remained silent for a moment, before he casually leaned against the doorframe, his grey eyes serious as he looked the Tachibana boy straight in the eye.

"...If you hurt her, just know that they'll never find your body." Aoi said solemnly..

"What?" Makoto exclaimed, startled.

"Well duh." Aoi scoffed, idly scratching his head as he reverted back to his carefree state. "I'm giving you permission to date Turtle, of course."

"H-huh?!" Makoto exclaimed. Well, that hadn't been something he had expected...

"C'mon, did you really think I'd let anyone go out with my sister without going through me first?" Aoi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"N-no, but..." Makoto trailed off, still somewhat uncomfortable with the sudden change of topic. He supposed he should have been glad to have Aoi's 'permission', but he was somewhat sheepish that he hadn't thought about getting it in the first place...

Aoi just sighed as he shot Makoto a look that made him feel like an idiot. "Just man up and fess up to her already- it's frustrating to see you two skirting around each other like scared schoolgirls."

"We don't do that!" Makoto defended, his face reddening at Aoi's statement. The Shion boy just smirked- his amused expression mirrored his sister's exactly- at Makoto's face.

"Whatever you say." Aoi shrugged, standing upright once more as he sighed. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say; I won't keep you any longer. Keep up the good work with your swimming, Orca. You're doing good."

"T-thank you, Aoi." Makoto said, confused at the young man's sudden mood changes- he really was a peculiar one. However, remembering what he had said earlier, Makoto steeled himself before looking directly at Aoi as he continued. "And don't worry- I'll take care of Byaku-chan. I promise."

"Hmph. Make sure you stick to your word, Orca. I'm trusting you... always have." Aoi said, shooting him a genuine smile. He then moved to shut the door, before he paused and glanced back at Makoto, his expression completely serious.

"Oh, and just to clarify... I may approve of you, but if you even think about taking it further than first base with my sister, I will flay you. " Aoi said solemnly. And then he shut the door in Makoto's face before he could respond.

Makoto's jaw dropped.

"How can you even say that with a straight face?!"

* * *

><p>As Byakuya lay awake on her bed, she gazed up at the ceiling listlessly as she thought over the events of the day. She was almost positive that she wouldn't get any sleep with all her worrying and musing, but eventually her eyelids grew more and more heavy, her exhaustion finally getting the best of her. She turned onto her side, sighing as she allowed sleep to overtake her. She would just have to wait and see what tomorrow brought, but despite her concerns... she felt a lot more at peace than she had in a long time.<p>

She was beginning to understand what Aoi and Meiko had been getting at- now that she could see for herself just how much her friends cared for her... she began to accept that she couldn't be perfect- and that it was okay to be that way. With that, she began to truly understand her self worth.

And with that, she began to break free.

* * *

><p>AN: If you all want to kill me for that near-kiss... IT MEANS I ACCOMPLISHED MY GOAL. HAHA. (lol jk ilu guys I just love crushing your hopes more *shot*). You all have probably learned by now to never trust me ever again, haha!<p>

Thanks ever so much to Shizuka Kitsune, Savage Kill, MyFriendsAreMyPower, Heavenly Condemned and maggikarps for reviewing, blackcat711 for adding this story as well as my profile to your alerts and favourites, and Ravenhearst for favouriting and following this fic! Thanks for the support, guys! ;D


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

It was only in the early hours of the morning that Haruka made his way back towards his home. He had spent the whole time he was out in the pool, lying there and swimming listlessly for hours and hours on end as he listened to the sloshing of the water against the poolside, watching as the night sky slowly but gradually got lighter with the arrival of sunrise. He wasn't so much tired physically as he was mentally- the fight and fire in him from earlier that day just dissipating with his dampened mood. If he could, he would have stayed there all day- it was a Sunday the next day, after all- but eventually he decided that he'd better make his way home once the exertion finally caught up to him.

However, no matter how tired he was, he still couldn't get his mind off Rin, and how he'd just walked away and left him behind. Haruka still didn't understand what he was so upset about- not even all those hours of solitude could help him clear his mind.

As he rounded the bend that would take him to his house, he noticed with a start that the lights in the entranceway were on- the brightness visible through the windows and panes of the front door. Though surprised, he made a guess that his friends had stopped by sometime while he was out- though he wasn't sure why the light was still on. Surely they would have all gone home by now?

Opening the front door of his house, Haruka was even more startled to see a familiar olive-haired boy sitting on the steps of the entranceway, leaning heavily against the wall as he slept soundly.

"Makoto?" Haruka muttered, disbelief lacing his voice. Makoto had stayed here? For how long? He must've been here quite a while if he'd fallen asleep in that position...

A small blinking light caught Haru's attention, and he focused his sight upon the light green phone in Makoto's hands- his phone. This only made him even more curious- why was Makoto holding his phone? The Nanase boy bent down and carefully pried the item from his best friend's hands, which was easy to do since his grip on it had already loosened as he slept.

Makoto didn't seem to notice as he kept on sleeping, and Haruka quietly glanced at the phone screen to see what caused the notification light to go on. It was a voice mail, apparently. Haru pressed the phone to his ear, clicking the button that would play the recorded message...

"Haru-chan, where are you right now?" Nagisa's worried voice rang from the phone, startling Haru. The others had left a message for him? What was this...?

"Please hurry home." Rei's voice suddenly added. "We're all worried."

They had been worried? About him?

"Oi, make sure you get back soon, or I'll hunt you down and drag your ass back myself." Came Byakuya's serious voice.

He'd been out a long time... had they waited very long? Why did they do it?

"I'm so sorry, Haruka-senpai!" Kou pleaded next. "I signed you all up for the medley relay!"

That made Haru start. The relay...

"Yeah, so let's all swim together tomorrow, Haru-chan!" Nagisa said, his voice determined.

Swimming together...

"I'll be fine!" Rei's voice said quickly. "I'll have the theory memorized by tomorrow!"

Tomorrow... that meant today- it was already morning, after all.

"Rei-chan, that's a sure sign you'll fail!" Nagisa exclaimed. Haruka was sure that there was more that had been said, but the message ended right then, cutting off the messy conversation. He stared at his phone, as if he couldn't believe what he had heard.

They... wanted to swim with him in a relay? But why? Why was this so important to them? His thoughts went back to the events at prefecturals, where he'd watched every single one of his teammates swimming...

_"Haru-chan, let's swim together!"_

Bright, caring Nagisa. Always so willing to cheer others up no matter how bleak things looked. Never forgetting what it meant to be a team, he was the glue that kept them together as he brought laughter and happiness into their lives.

_"I'll have the theory memorized!"_

Dedicated, strong-willed Rei. No matter how difficult things were for him, he never gave up as he pushed to better himself. He always gave it his all for the sake of the team, just so he could help to reach all that the goals they hoped to achieve.

_"You watched. Thank you so, so much..."_

Rough yet kind Byakuya. Not one to show her feelings, yet always caring for them in her own way. Despite her own insecurities, she never let anyone feel like they weren't part of the team as she supported them all without hesitation.

_"It has to be you! I want to swim with you!"_

Strong and gentle Makoto. The pillar of strength that held them up when they felt like they were about to fall. Always putting others before him, he cared for his teammates like his own family. He'd always been their comfort and strength through the difficulties they faced when they strove to reach their dreams...

And it wasn't a dream they could accomplish by themselves. Not as long as the team was incomplete- not without Haruka.

Haruka took a deep breath, shutting his azure eyes as he realized just why they wanted to swim this relay. They wanted to swim... as a team.

Haru knelt down in front of his slumbering friend and slowly placed a hand on Makoto's shoulder, giving it a light shake so as to wake him up gently.

"Makoto." Haruka called, his voice unwavering as he made his decision. "Makoto."

The Tachibana boy stirred from his sleep at Haruka's call, and slowly blinked open his eyes. Sitting up straighter again, her rubbed at his tired eyes as he looked up at his best friend, still not quite comprehending what was going on.

"Haru?" He murmured blearily. Haruka just stared back evenly at him, his blue eyes shining with some of the same fire he'd had yesterday as he spoke again.

"We have a relay to swim, right?" He asked in confirmation.

Makoto paused for a moment as he registered what Haru was saying, before his eyes widened and he jerked awake almost immediately. He stared at Haru in wide-eyed amazement- he had consented to swimming with them? This wasn't something he'd seen coming at all...

Yet, it was quite the pleasant surprise.

"Haru!"

* * *

><p>The sound of her ringtone blasting out at full volume was the first thing Byakuya awoke to at 5.00am that Sunday. Growling under her breath, she forced herself to get up and slithered to the desk where she left her phone, not bothering to check the ID as she answered lowly.<p>

"I swear, if this is some prank call I will hunt you down and shove your phone down your throat-"

"Bya-kun!" Nagisa's voice on the other end exclaimed. "What did I say about being nice to people?"

"Nagi-kun?" Byakuya started, shaking out of her sleepy state immediately. "What's going on?"

"Bya-kun, how fast can you make it to the pool?" Nagisa asked insistently, his urgent voice successfully gaining Byakuya's full attention.

"The one in our school?" Byakuya asked as she quickly made her way into her bathroom, holding her phone between her shoulder and ear as she grabbed her toothbrush and squeezed toothpaste onto it.

"Yeah!" Nagisa replied quickly. "Please hurry, Bya-kun! Rei-chan and I need your help! We're heading there right now!"

"Okay, okay!" Byakuya exclaimed through her toothbrush as she got a proper grip on her phone again. Thankfully, her words were still audible to the blonde on the other side of the line. "Whash zis abowt?"

"Haru-chan is joining the relay!"

Byakuya paused from brushing her teeth, her eyes widening as she fell completely silent at that sentence. When she replied...

"I'll be there in 15 minutes."

* * *

><p>"Ao-nii!" Byakuya yelled as she pounded frantically on the door to Aoi's bedroom. Her voice continued growing louder and her pounding more insistent with each passing second. "AO-NII!"<p>

"What, what, what?" Aoi complained as he finally threw open his door. He wore a disgruntled look on his face, his horrendous bedhead rivalling even that of Byakuya's. "What are you doing up at this time on a Sunday?"

"I need you to drive me to school!" Byakuya said urgently. "It's an emergency!"

"Wha..?" Aoi yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Can't this wait or something-"

"Gah!" Byakuya cried in frustration, ignoring her brother as she turned on her heel and practically flew down the stairs. "Never mind! I'll just do it the usual way!" She hollered back as she unlocked the door at top speed, rushing out of her house.

"Huh?" Aoi exclaimed in surprise, running out to the other room to use the window facing the front of the house as he called out to his sister. "H-hey, Turtle! What's going on?"

"Haru-kun's joining the relay!" Byakuya yelled back, not even turning around as she ran along the path that would take her out of the housing estates. She needed to get to the train station, and fast.

Aoi took a moment to realize what his sister had said, and he shook his head vigorously to wake himself up properly. Once he did, however, his sister was already out of sight- when had she gotten so fast at running? The Shion boy sighed and scratched his head sheepishly as he turned to walk into the kitchen. From the rumpled state her clothes had been in and her messy hair, he doubted that Byakuya had even had breakfast before she'd run out of the house. And as her older sibling, it was sort of his responsibility to make sure she didn't die of gastric problems because of her recklessness- even if she kind of deserved it. Really, his sister was ridiculously impulsive sometimes...

He would admit he was sort of to blame for influencing that trait, though. But he would never say that out loud.

* * *

><p>"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." Byakuya muttered repeatedly as she ran towards the train platform, praying dearly that there would be a train at the stop. Unfortunately...<p>

"Aw, crap!" She exclaimed exasperatedly, deflating upon seeing the empty station. And according to the digital directory, the train had left the station just two minutes ago.

"What to do, what to do..." She murmured to herself, feeling her nerves acting up. She needed to get to the pool fast, and if the train had just left, it would be ages until it came to this stop again.

Unless...

Byakuya spun around and ran as fast as she could out of the station, breathing heavily as she pushed her legs to the limit. She couldn't wait for the train, but she sure as hell could get to school another way- and that was on foot.

By gosh, they so owed her for this.

* * *

><p>"You actually made it in fifteen minutes." Rei said, somewhat impressed at the short amount the time Byakuya had taken to get to the pool. He and Nagisa had just gotten there themselves, and had already stripped down to their swimsuits as they waited for ths Shion girl to arrive. While she made it in time...<p>

"Did you run all the way here?" Nagisa asked, his tone somewhat hesitant as he stared at the girl, who was panting heavily and nearly keeling over in exhaustion.

"N-no train. But not... the point..." Byakuya panted out, forcing herself to straighten up. Damn, her side hurt like hell. "Wh-what do you need me for?"

"We need to work on our exchanges, Byakuya-senpai!" Rei explained, adjusting his goggles over his eyes.

"Yeah! So help us out, please!" Nagisa added. "We need to make sure we get this right, at least!"

"Gotcha." Byakuya responded, finally catching her breath as she shrugged off her jacket and prepared to strip down to her swimsuit. "You know the basics, Rei-kun?"

"Yes." Rei responded. "I read up on it last night, as I said I would."

"Great. That makes things easier." Byakuya said, putting aside her tracksuit as she stretched her arms lightly in preparation for the practice. "I'll start with the back- Nagi-kun, you get into positions first. Rei-kun, watch closely- you're going in after Nagi-kun."

"Got it!" "Understood." The two underclassmen responded, pulling on their glasses and swim caps. Byakuya got into the pool first- she hadn't brought her own swimming accessories in her rush to get to the pool, but it wasn't all that big of a hindrance.

"I'll start from the middle of the pool. You two can choose to go to the end or stop halfway." Byakuya directed. There was no need to complete a whole lap- they didn't quite have time for that. Once Nagisa got onto the starting block, Byakuya lay on her back in the water, her back to the starting block as she began the backstroke- she was actually rather comfortable with that particular stroke, but preferred the front crawl for its speed. As soon as she touched the wall, Nagi-kun jumped over her and dove into the water without a second to lose.

"Try to get a bit more distance next time, Nagi-kun!" Byakuya called out, before turning to Rei and directing him. "You saw how that was done. Now, get into positions, and watch closely. Timing is the key."

"Yes, senpai." Rei said in affirmative, getting into the starting position. Byakuya lifted herself out of the pool as well, watching as Nagisa made it to the halfway point before stopping himself and turning around to swim back to the wall.

"Nagi-kun, hands out at the end...good!" Byakuya praised as Nagisa touched the wall. Rei jumped in right after, his timing impeccable. "Nice entry, Rei-kun!"

As Byakuya watched on, she was vaguely reminded of her childhood days- back when she and the others would do the same thing as they worked on their exchanges and times. Back then, she had spent more time observing and directing from the sidelines, not really participating in the relay practice like the others did. Even so..

Byakuya's lips twitched upwards slightly, before her eyes narrowed and she hollered.

"Rei-kun, a bit too close to the wall!"

She supposed it wasn't too bad. Especially since she could boss them around to an extent.

* * *

><p>One and a half hours later, the three teens ran out to the school gate, hoping dearly that their ride had arrived...<p>

"There he is!" Rei announced, seeing a familiar red car screeching to a halt in front of the gates. The three of them didn't hesitate as they ran up to the car, practically throwing the doors open and tumbling into the car- Byakuya riding shotgun while the other two took the back seat.

"How'd it go?!" Aoi asked eagerly as they all buckled up.

"Great, Ao-nii!" Byakuya replied, her voice rushed from all the excitement. She'd managed to get in some time to work on her butterfly and breaststroke as the other two practiced their exchanges, so she was at least a bit prepared for her own event as well. They had to hurry if they intended to be on time, though- they were supposed to meet the others at 7.00...

"You're just in time, Ao-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed. They'd only just finished up practicing and barely wasted any time as they dried themselves off and ran towards the school entrance. The blonde's hair was still dripping a bit as he grinned at the Shion boy, who simple grunted in acknowledgement.

"Thank you very much!" Rei added, ever grateful that the young man had agreed to fetch them instead of having them take the train. It definitely saved time that way.

"Don't mention it." Aoi replied quickly, turning around briefly as he shifted his car's gear back to drive. "I got some sandwiches packed in the back, make sure you all eat something before that race."

"You prepared food for all of us?" Byakuya said, surprised. She wasn't complaining, though- she was pretty sure her stomach's growling was very much audible to the others, and they looked pretty stoked at the mention of food, themselves.

"Well duh!" Aoi retorted, turning back and revving the car engine. "Now hurry up and eat! We're running on a time limit here, and let's all hope I don't hit anyone on the way!"

"What?!" Rei exclaimed. Surely he wasn't serious?!

"Hang on tight!" Aoi announced, speeding off without a moment's consideration and possibly leaving tyre marks when he did.

The three teens weren't exactly religious, but they sure as hell prayed real hard for their lives that morning.

* * *

><p>"Not okay, Ao-nii." Byakuya groaned as she unbuckled her seatbelt. Aoi had finally screeched to halt in a parking bay at the stadium's parking lot, and she felt almost sick after that horrible, possibly life-threatening drive. "Not okay."<p>

"What? I got you here on time, didn't I?" Aoi responded annoyingly. He really didn't see what the problem was...

"You ran three red lights!" Rei exclaimed indignantly, horrified at the older man's example.

"There weren't any other cars!" Aoi defended.

"Never mind that!" Nagisa interjected quickly, throwing open the car door and dragging Rei out with him. "Come on, Bya-kun! Hurry!"

"On it!" Byakuya called back, rushing out of the car as well, slamming the door shut behind her.

"...You're welcome." Aoi grumbled to himself, sighing as the three of them exited the car. What did it take to get a little appreciation around here...

"We're here!" Byakuya announced quickly as she caught a a glimpse of the others, all already standing at the entrance to the stadium.

"Sorry we're late!" Nagisa exclaimed apologetically as they skid to a halt in front of the rest of the team.

"I'm sorry!" Rei added, hoping that they hadn't been waiting too long.

"Man, what were you guys doing?" Kou said exasperatedly as the others ran up to them. "You're late."

The three teens exchanged a knowing look, before turning back to face the others with happy- almost smug- looks on their faces.

"Actually..." Nagisa started cheekily.

"We were practicing the exchange in the pool at school!" Rei finished, adjusting his glasses proudly at the stunned looks on the others' faces. "Byakuya-senpai got some time to work on her event, too!"

"Really rushed, but I think we nailed it." Byakuya added brightly.

"That eliminates the possibility of Rei-chan completely failing!" Nagisa concluded cheefully, grinning at the looks of astonishment on the others' faces.

"When did you..." Makoto trailed off, not sure what to say.

"5.00am." Came Aoi's voice as he finally strode up to the rest of them, adjusting the cap on his head as he grumbled. "I would know. Bloody sister of mine was banging on my door like the world was ending."

"Of course not. This is way more important." Byakuya responded simply. Aoi's eye twitched and smacked her upside her head. While it was done playfully, he was in no way as careful as Makoto when he did so- thus Byakuya was left rubbing her head painfully as she glared at Aoi. Nagisa and Rei just chuckled lightheartedly, while the others stared in pleasant surprise at the fact that they had gotten in some practice- it alleviated their worries somewhat.

"Haru-chan..." Nagisa called, startling the Nanase boy slightly. "I'm thrilled that we get to swim in a relay together again."

"Let's do this together, Haruka-senpai." Rei added determinedly, shooting Haruka a small smile.

"You didn't sleep at all yesterday, did you?" Byakuya sighed reprimandingly. "Make sure you don't collapse out there."

Haruka couldn't help but stare. He'd honestly expected some berating for his actions yesterday for having worried them all, and yet... his friends didn't seem to mind it all that much. They all just seemed so happy just to be able to have him here, then and there, so that they could swim together.

They were the best friends anyone could ever ask for.

"Okay!" Nagisa enthused, pumping his fist in the air. "Time to show everyone that our training has paid off!"

"Yes! That's why we're here!" Rei agreed enthusiastically.

"I had to run all the way to school." Byakuya added, smirking. "So make sure you do your best or I'll really give you guys hell."

"That's somewhat harsh." Aoi muttered under his breath.

"I do it because I care." Byakuya shrugged. "But enough of that! Time to go show em what you guys are made of!"

"So much enthusiasm!" Miss Amakata exclaimed happily. She was glad to see that her students were so pumped up about this whole thing.

"Okay!" Kou announced, a wide grin on her face as she pumped her fist in the air."Let's give it our best shot!"

"Yeah!" The others all followed suit, raising their fists in unison. They were a team, and they would be in this together.

* * *

><p>Across from where the Iwatobi Swim Team were gathering, a familiar lavender-haired boy was watching their exchange with a hint of confusion in his light blue eyes.<p>

"Shion...senpai?" Nitori muttered. Why was the Iwatobi team here? Didn't they finish their events already yesterday? The only events that were on today were...

Oh.

Nitori's eyes widened in surprise as he registered what this could mean, and quickly ran to the registration counter, trying to remain calm as he spoke to the lady running the counter.

"P-please." Nitori stuttered out politely, barely containing his anxiety. "I would like to check if Iwatobi High is taking part in the relay."

"Iwatobi...ah!" The lady exclaimed, pointing at her list. Sure enough, the words 'Iwatobi High School' were printed out in bold. "Yes, they have four members signed up for the medley relay, and one in the individual medley."

"A-alright! Thank you!" Nitori said quickly, turning around and practically running back towards the changing room. His heart was pounding at this new piece of information- since when had they planned to enter the relay? Byakuya hadn't said anything about it before, and Rin...

Nitori pushed his legs to go faster. He had to tell Rin- and fast.

* * *

><p>Rin sat on the bench against the wall, resting his head in his hand as his elbow was propped up against the wall. He was staring blankly into space as he silently contemplated- not for the first time- again what Makoto had said to him yesterday. He was still so conflicted about his emotions at this point- not sure what he was feeling or why he was feeling that way. Wasn't he supposed to be free after beating Haru? Why were Mako's words eating him up? And what he'd said to Byakuya...<p>

_"All you do hide behind that facade. Just admit it- you're pathetic."_

Recalling what he'd said to her, he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty- the look of utter hurt and shock that had crossed her face seemed to haunt his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had gone too far with that comment. He'd never meant to do that- it had been instinctive, a defense mechanism...

Why should he feel so strongly about all of this? He had nothing to do with any of them anymore, right? So why should he care about what they said or felt?

"Matsuoka-senpai!" Nitori's voice startled Rin out of his musings, and he turned around to see the underclassman running up to him, nearly out of breath. "Come with me- quick!"

"What is it?" Rin asked, annoyed as he turned away again. He didn't want to be interrupted by anyone right now- he didn't even want to watch his club members racing, either, honestly. "It's not time for Samezuka's relay yet."

"No!" Nitori exclaimed insistently. "Nanase-san's club is in the relay!"

That made Rin start again, and he turned around to look at Nitori again. There was no hint of joking or lying in the boy's eyes, and Rin couldn't help but gape in surprise at what he'd said.

"...Huh?"

* * *

><p>Rin ran down the hallway leading towards the field, not slowing down as he pushed his strong legs to get him to his destination as fast as he could. Even Nitori- who had given hin the information that had lead to his current actions- couldn't keep up with him as he ran. He had to see this for himself...<p>

"W-wait for me, Matsuoka-senpai!" Nitori called out, panting as he tried to catch up with his senior. Rin didn't even glance back or bother to listen to Nitori's exclamations, far too focused on reaching the field to confirm what he had been told.

As he burst through the doors leading to the sidelines of the field, the light from the rays of the sun made him pause as he squinted his eyes to readjust his sight to the change of brightness- vaguely reminding him of that dream he had not too long ago. In fact, what he saw once he regained his vision properly almost made him believe that it was indeed another dream. But there was no mistaking it- those were his old teammates standing by the poolside with the other swimmers as they got ready to swim the relay.

_'They signed up for the relay?'_ Rin thought to himself in disbelief, watching as the Iwatobi bunch conversed idly, giving each other encouragements before the race. Standing silently with them was Haruka, who wore the same passive look on his face he normally did- nothing like what Rin had expected.

Haruka was swimming in the relay. Of his own free will. The others, too.

Gritting his teeth in absolute disgust and frustration, it took all of Rin's strength and restraint not to punch a hole in the nearby wall. He couldn't believe it- what were they doing? Wasn't it supposed to be Haru's turn to feel the despair he had felt when he'd bested him? Weren't they all supposed to wake up and realize that swimming wasn't simply child's play? He thought they would have figured all that out by now! So why...

Why were they swimming a relay without him?

* * *

><p>"Hey, Turtle." Aoi called, catching his sister's attention.<p>

"Hm?"

"What do you think when you look at them?"

"What do you mean?" Byakuya asked, tilting her head curiously.

"When you see them getting to swim together like that..." Aoi said, gesturing to her friends on the field. "How do you feel?"

"...It's discomforting." Byakuya admitted, a wry smile on her face. "But... not in a bad way."

"Whaddya mean?" Aoi inquired.

"Like you said, Ao-nii." Byakuya said simply, grinning up at her brother. "I guess I finally figured it out on my own this time.

"...Heh. Told you I was a genius." Aoi smirked, placing his hands behind his head as well. Byakuya just smirked back, before kicking him lightly in the shin.

"Don't gloat, moron. Now get back to cheering-"

"What is it?" Aoi inquired as his sister suddenly cut herself off and stared intensely at something down on the field. He followed her gaze, and started as he saw what- or rather, who- she was looking at. "That's..."

"Rin-kun..."

* * *

><p>Rin watched his old team in completely stunned silence, Nitori by his side. Since the backstroke was first in the relay event, Makoto got into the pool, gripping the handle bars by the poolside and bracing his feet against the wall as he waited for the signal from the announcer. At the back of his mind, Rin barely registered a loud, piercing whistle from the crowd followed by an enthusiastic cheer from a very familiar voice. His attention was fixed on the Tachibana boy, who- as soon as the 'go' was given- had pushed off the wall, swimming swiftly as his strong arms pulled him through the water.<p>

_'His stroke...'_ Rin thought to himself as he watched the olive-haired boy cut swiftly through the water. For a moment, he was reminded of the old days, remembering a smaller, younger Makoto as he strove to improve the new stroke he had taken on for the sake of his team. _'A rough but dynamic stroke that leaves everyone behind. It hasn't changed since then... that's Makoto's stroke.'_

Makoto's lap was finished rather quickly- Rin had barely even noticed the time as it flew by- and he reached the starting wall before most of the other swimmers. Without missing a beat, Nagisa- the breaststroke swimmer in the group- jumped over the olive-haired boy and straight into the water, propelling himself forth with his rhythmic stroke.

_'And I can't forget Nagisa's stroke.'_ Rin mused. The blonde had an uncanny swimming style- one that impossible to mistake for anyone else's. Since back then all the way up till now, the youngest member of the team had always tried his best to keep up with the rest of his friends. _'How he speeds up after the turn, and how he creates the illusion that his arms extend when he swims...'_

"You're killing em, Iwatobi Penguin! Keep it up!"

_'Byakuya...'_ Rin glanced up briefly at the spectator stands at the loud cheer and spotted the grinning Shion girl. She looked just the same as she had all those years ago, her voice growing hoarse as she shouted and cheered them on for their first relay.

"Nagisa-kun! You're doing great!"

_'Gou is cheering for them too?'_ Rin started, seeing his little sister shouting cheers for his old teammates. An emotion that felt almost like hurt and betrayal stung him for a moment, but he couldn't make sense of it. His sister was their manager, it was to be expected that she'd cheer for them. But once upon a time... She'd cheered for her big brother as well.

Nagisa reached the end of his lap just as quickly as Makoto did, his speed boost after the turn granting him leverage over his opponents. Rin refocused on the relay, watching as the Iwatobi team's butterfly swimmer- he couldn't remember his name, only that he had almost drowned at Samezuka- leapt into the pool right after Nagisa touched the wall. While his entry and stroke were perfect, Rin could only glare furiously at the bluenette as he swam.

_'And him...'_ Rin's fists clenched even tighter, his nails nearly leaving indentations in his palms. _'Is that supposed to be butterfly?! Pathetic!'_

What were they thinking? Letting a newbie like him swim with them?! He was going to slow them down! His form was perfect, but his speed was barely passable! They needed someone fast, someone who could keep up with them and do the team proud...

Like he could have.

_'Why is someone like you... swimming with them?'_

* * *

><p>As Haruka got onto the starting block and prepared to pull on his goggles, a flash of maroon caught his eye. He turned his glance towards the sidelines, and saw none other than his old friend standing there, a look of what seemed to be disbelief as he stared back at Haru with his crimson eyes. Haruka seemed a bit startled, but just as easily as that emotion came, it vanished as he met Rin's gaze evenly.<p>

He still remembered what he'd felt after Rin had bested him- the despair, the blankness, the feeling of loss. He still didn't understand why he felt that way, and he didn't know if he would ever be able to see the old Rin ever again. He wanted to know- wanted to be sure of what awaited him, and yet...

"Almost time to shine, Haru-kun! Focus!"

"Haruka-senpai! You can win this!"

The loud cheers reached Haru's ears, and he spared a glance back at the stands, seeing Byakuya, Kou, Aoi and Miss Amakata, all hollering encouragements for him and the team. His friends behind him were doing the same, cheering each other on as they hoped for the best outcome for this race.

All his concerns weren't important now.

_'I don't need an answer right away.'_ Haruka thought to himself conclusively, tearing his eyes away from Rin and the others as he pulled his goggles onto his face, preparing himself as Rei approached the starting wall once more. _'For now...'_

The water, glistening in the sunlight.

Makoto. Byakuya. Nagisa. Rei. Gou.

Rin.

What was important was what was in front of him- then and there.

And the moment Rei touched the wall, Haruka dove in, allowing himself- for this moment, at least- to swim free.

* * *

><p>"Haru!" "Haru-chan!" Nagisa and Makoto both exclaimed as Haruka swam swiftly through the water, practically flying forth and passing his first opponent in a matter of seconds.<p>

"He passed one!" Makoto announced excitedly.

"He's in fourth!" Nagisa confirmed. He couldn't believe it- Haruka was amazing...

"He passed another!" Rei exclaimed as he got out of the water and stood by the others, watching Haruka expectantly.

"Third!" Makoto observed. This was just as intense as the last race...

"Haru-chan..." Nagisa murmured, his pink eyes shining as he suddenly pumped his fist, yelling. "GO!"

"He's leaving them in the dust!" Aoi exclaimed from the stands, watching the Nanase boy in awe. He had always known he was talented, but still...

"And another!" Kou announced as Haruka overtook yet another opponent. She, Byakuya and Miss Amakata were clinging to each other and squealing in anticipation. "Second! Second!"

"He's closing in!" Makoto cried, his voice rising eagerly. "They're dead even!"

"Knock 'em out, Haru-kun!" Byakuya hollered. Just a bit more...!

"Haru-chan!" "Haru!" "Haruka-senpai!"

After what seemed like a painstakingly long moment, Haruka finally touched the wall. And...

"WE WON!" Everyone yelled victoriously, their cheers resonating through the crowd. The names on the board rearranged themselves, and their very own Iwatobi High School was in first. They'd done it! Kou and Miss Amakata hugged each other, squealing for joy at their club's victory while Aoi just grinned widely. Byakuya just turned and hurried down to the field in her adrenaline-rushed state, eager to catch up to her teammates .

Haruka heaved a sigh of relief as he saw the results, his breathing heavy from all that swimming. What a rush...

"Haru!" Makoto called out joyfully, catching the raven-haired boy's attention. He looked up to see Makoto leaning down, his hand outstretched towards him to help him out of the pool. "That was amazing!"

"You did it, Haru-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, grinning at his friend- they never would have done it without him.

"That was truly inspiring, Haruka-senpai!" Rei cried, his face slightly flushed from all the excitement. That had been absolutely beautiful...

"Yeah, my heart was racing just watching you!" Nagisa added as Haruka simply remained silent, still panting slightly to regain his strength.

"Same here! Mine is still racing!" Rei added as Haruka finally took Makoto's hand and hefted himself out of the pool.

"Congratulations, you guys!" A familiar voice called out, and they turned to see Byakuya running up to them. "You totally kicked ass!"

"Bya-kun? Are you supposed to be here?" Nagisa asked, his voice still energetic despite how tired he was from all that swimming.

"Screw the rules." Byakuya scoffed, throwing her arms around her friends. "This is cause for celebration!"

"Don't speak too soon- You still have your own event up next, senpai." Rei reminded, a wode smile on his own face.

"Ah, that's right. I have to go get ready." Byakuya exclaimed, a thoughtful look on her face.

"You forgot?" Makoto inquired laughingly.

"I got too excited watching you guys!" Byakuya defended, laughing as well. "You were fantastic!"

"We actually get to go to regionals!" Makoto exclaimed. He still couldn't believe they'd actually won...

"Haru-chan, I love you!" Nagisa cried suddenly, jumping onto Haruka and giving him a huge, glomping hug.

"Haruka-senpai!" Rei cried out as well, also throwing his arms around Haruka.

"Nagisa!" Makoto laughed as he saw the blonde clinging onto Haruka, tears glistening in his pink eyes. He always was moved by Haruka's swimming.

"Hey, you're heavy." Haruka said blandly, though he made no move to return Nagisa's embrace or to make the boy release him.

"Who's the fat one now, Nagi-kun?" Byakuya grinned.

"We did it!" Nagisa cried, merely ignoring his friends' protests and comments.

"Stop it." Haruka responded half-heartedly. He didn't show it, but he was rather pleased himself... so he might as well let his friends have their moment.

Byakuya laughed at the silly sight, the joyful mood making her feel great as well. It'd been so long since she'd felt like this...

A sudden thought reoccured to her, and she paused briefly. She slowly peered over Haruka's shoulder- the boy had his back towards the pool- and she caught sight of him.

Rin's face was utterly blank as he stared at his friends, and Byakuya couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. Was he remembering how all of them had celebrated their victory like this once before? When he'd been part of the team? When he'd smiled and laughed with all of them?

The possibilities were endless. And Byakuya couldn't help but wonder if this had affected Rin more than she thought.

* * *

><p>"Fight, Bya-kun! You can do this!" Nagisa yelled loudly as he stood in the stands, watching as Byakuya took her place in front of her lane for the women's individual medley. Her heart was racing, but upon Nagisa's cheer, she glanced back up at the stands. Somehow, the sight of all her friends cheering her on seemed to calm her nerves, and she shot them all huge grin before she pulled her goggles over her head. Just as she did, though, she paused as she noticed something.<p>

It had been at least half an hour since the men's relay had ended, and Rin was still standing where he was when she'd seen him earlier, Nitori loyally standing behind him. Her attention was focused on Rin, however, who was staring at her with that same unreadable expression from before. But as she saw him, she remembered once more the words he'd said to her, and her expression steeled. She got into the water and gripped the handle bars as she braced her feet against the wall, ignoring Rin as she prepared to launch herself into the water at the announcer's signal.

_'I'm not pathetic.'_ Byakuya thought to herself, her grip on the bars tightening slightly. _'My achievements don't make me who I am.'_

No. She already had everything she needed. Her friends- her family... they opened the door for her, and ushered her in with wide open arms.

All she needed to do was take that first step.

The announcer gave the signal for the swimmers to get ready, and Byakuya's muscles coiled as she prepared to kick off.

_'No matter how this turns out...'_

The start signal sounded, and Byakuya pushed off into the water.

_'Today, I will let go of what has been.'_

* * *

><p>Rin watched in silence as he watched the dark-haired girl shot through the water with strong, precise strokes that had her overtaking most of her opponents. It was just like the first time he'd seen her all those years ago- the child of the Olympic swimmer.<p>

_'The same pattern...'_ Rin observed solemnly as Byakuya finished her backstroke lap and transferred to her breaststroke- which wasn't as good as her back. This gave her opponents an opening to make up for the ground they lost earlier. _'A fast backstroke, followed by a slower breaststroke. Her butterfly isn't much better. But then...'_

Byakuya had all but lost the ground she'd gained from her speedy backstroke, and was struggling to maintain fourth place by the time she'd finished her butterfly. But the moment she completed the turn to finish the race with her freestyle...

Rin watched as Byakuya kicked off the wall with all her strength for the final lap. As she started her front crawl, her strokes were just as strong as her earlier backstroke- possibly more. The front crawl was her forte, but during a medley that particular stroke changed slightly...

_'She hardly comes up for air.'_ Rin watched as the girl's head remained submerged for the most part during her crawl, only coming up for air two or three times.. _'All her strength and concentration is focused on her stroke. But by the time she even notices how tired she is...'_

* * *

><p>"She's catching up again!" Makoto exclaimed as he watched Byakuya speed up and close the distance between her and her opponents.<p>

"She's in third place! And still going strong!" Miss Amakata squealed excitedly, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Second!" Kou announced, her voice growing higher with eager anticipation. "Just a bit more...!"

"It's such a close call..." Rei observed, watching as Byakuya caught up to the swimmer in first place. If the board was correct, she was now up against Kingyo's medley swimmer- the same school she'd lost to yesterday.

"Bya-kun!" Nagisa cried, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice.

"Go, Byakuya-chan!" Kou hollered, mimicking Nagisa's actions.

"Win one for the team, Turtle!" Aoi yelled, placing his fingers to his lips and emitting a sharp, piercing whistle. Just a bit more, and...

* * *

><p>Byakuya touched the wall and surfaced for air the moment she felt the cool tiles under her fingertips. She gasped and panted as she struggled to breath again- even though she could hold her breath for so long, it still burned her lungs. Her eyes took time to focus on the board as the numbers flashed on, but when she did...<p>

Next to her name on the board was the number '1'.

"YEAH!" Byakuya shouted victoriously, nearly jumping in the water as she grinned widely. However, her fatigue from earlier made her dizzy at the sudden action, and she quickly fell back down again, having to grip the poolside for support as she lay her head down and groaned painfully.

But damn, she was stoked.

"Byakuya-chan!" Kou cheered loudly from the stands, nearly jumping with excitement.

"Atta girl, Turtle!" Aoi hollered, his wide grin practically stuck on his face. He'd finally gotten to see his sister swim- really swim- again, and it was great. The others were cheering with happiness as well, and though Haruka remained silent for the most part, his lips twitched upwards slightly at the corners. It looked like everyone had reason to celebrate today...

That is, almost everyone.

"A-ah, Matsuoka-senpai?" Nitori exclaimed as Rin suddenly spun on his heel, taking long strides back into the stadium building. The maroon-haired senior didn't respond, grinding his teeth as he stalked off. As if that relay hadn't been enough, watching the Shion girl swim had only brought up even more memories from his childhood- ones that he really didn't want to remember right now.

She'd proved him wrong. They all had. Their performance today showed that even without him... they were still alright.

And for some reason, that hurt.

* * *

><p>Byakuya grabbed her can of soda from the vending machine outside the girls' locker rooms, popping the can open and taking several gulps of it immediately. She gave a sigh of relief as she put down the can- she'd barely had anything to drink all morning. The relay was over, and she'd left the stands on her own to go and grab a drink after the others had finished the race. A small smile played on her lips as she recalled both her victory and the sight of her friends swimming together- the latter just as breathtaking as the last time.<p>

Even if Rin wasn't there.

She shook her head to clear such a thought from her mind, finishing up her soda and tossing the empty can into the nearby bin. After what Rin had said to her yesterday, she had to admit she was still a bit hurt at the statement. Even if she'd gotten over it for the most part, it still stung to hear that from someone she used to consider one of her best friends.

She didn't hate Rin for what he'd said, though. It only made her want to save him even more from the anger and bitterness permeating his life.

Byakuya leaned against the wall opposite the vending machine, shutting her eyes and giving another sigh as she recalled the maroon-haired boy. Not as the cold person he was now, no, she remembered him as he once was- happy, friendly and kind as he declared his love for his friends.

'_No matter what- I'll never forget you guys. Ever. You'll always be my best buddie_s.'

"Dammit." Byakuya cursed quietly, rubbing her forehead to smooth out her creases brow. There went her good mood...

"I'm surprised to see you here, Shion." A casual voice suddenly called out, catching Byakuya's attention. Turning her head towards its source, she was greeted with the sight of a familiar brunette walking towards her.

"Aikawa-san. It's good to see you again." Byakuya greeted casually, shooting the older girl a small smile as she pushed herself off the wall.

"Pleasure's all mine." Meiko said, grinning at Byakuya once she'd stopped in front of her. "You didn't say that you were taking part in the individual medley."

"It was sort of a last minute thing."

"Well, I gotta say- I'm impressed." Meiko said appraisingly. "I wasn't sure you were gonna win, but that speed up after your butterfly... You're full of surprises, aren't you, Shion?"

"Thank you for your praise."

"What did I say about being so stiff?" Meiko sighed, smacking Byakuya on the back and making her straighten up instinctively. "Lighten up already!"

"S-sorry. Habitual." Byakuya stuttered, though she chuckled as well- the Kingyo captain was very easy to get along with. Once the laughter died down, however, Meiko's expression became a little more serious.

"Actually, Shion..." Meiko said slowly. "There's been something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"Hm?"

"It's about your swimming."

That made Byakuya blink in surprise. What was this about all of a sudden?

"Like I said before- you have talent." Meiko said, sensing Byakuya's confusion. "You managed to win that medley- and that's when you've been out of practice. With the right conditioning and training... I'd say you would be able to make professional material."

"What are you...?" Byakuya trailed off. She had an idea as to what Meiko was going to say next- those were almost the same words she had used back then, when...

"I'm saying... Kingyo would be the perfect place for you to develop your skills." Meiko said simply. "I'm offering you a place on our swim team again."

There it was. Byakuya swallowed hard and shifted her feet uncomfortably as she met Meiko's gaze- the captain of the Kingyo Swim Team looked deadly serious.

"I have nothing against your club, don't get me wrong." Meiko continued quickly. "But honestly speaking, Shion... your talents are wasted there. Being the sole female member grants you less availability and choice regarding your events. Take, for example, a relay. You couldn't even join one with your team even if you wanted to."

Byakuya's lips thinned as Meiko said that. Not being able to really swim with her friends in a relay because of her gender was one of the things she regretted the most. That was a pretty low blow, even if Meiko didn't mean to do so.

"If you were to join Kingyo, you'll have a wider range of opportunities- our training facilities are better, too." Meiko continued. "You'd have a better chance at pursuing a career as a swimmer- joining our team would open more doors. I'd even be willing to put in a good word for you in the future. So, how about it? "

Byakuya averted her gaze as Meiko laid down her offer. Aikawa was right. Kingyo was renowned for it's strong swim team, and more often than not professional swimmers were scouted from that school. If she were to join their team, it would almost surely ensure her success if she pursued a career in the swimming world- even more so if she had Meiko's support in the future. Any insecurities she had about her future would all but disappear, paving a clear path for her if she accepted.

As for her her friends... they would understand. Byakuya knew they would- they would respect her decision and bid her goodbye with well wishes, supporting her all the way. That was the way they were- they would want the best for her as well, regardless of what they themselves wanted. They were her team, and regardless of where she went, they would always be there for her.

At the back of her mind, Byakuya recalled the fortune she had drawn at the shrine the other day. '_Your path will be made clear to you'..._

It had been absolutely right. For the first time in her life, she felt sure of what she was doing. No longer was she bound by the expectations and wishes of others- she was finally able to take the wheel and stand on her own, because she was strengthened by the knowledge that her team would have her back, no matter what.

When she glanced back at Meiko, there was no hesitation in her eyes. Her voice was firm as she answered...

"Thank you, Aikawa-san."

* * *

><p>AN: I am not sorry for that twist. Haha *shot* On a lighter note, I based Byakuya's strengths in her swimming off of turtles and their capabilities (ability to hold breath for a long time, strong forelimbs etc). Also because she sucks at running on land, haha! And just to let ya'll know- this early update is to celebrate the fact that we're back to double updates for now, guys! (Thank goodness for hols lol), so we're going back to the old schedule! Updates on Wednesdays and Saturdays until further notice! 8D<p>

And as usual- thanks so much to maggikarps, Savage Kill, MyFriendsAreMyPower, Shizuka Kitsune, and that one Guest reviewer for your lovely reviews (And Guest, so sorry that you- along with most others- want to kill me, haha! But ya'll should know me by now- ain't no way in hell I am going to make this fluff easy for either one of them XD),sundayjoy01 and Forgetful Insanity for doing the above as well as adding this fic to your favs and follows, Amares for following this fic, and Tsuyuekii for favouriting this fic! You all are awesome XD


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

"I'm surprised Byakuya-senpai hasn't returned yet." Rei mused as he glanced at his watch. The women's individual medley had ended a good twenty minutes ago, with Byakuya qualifying for a place in the finals. They had been waiting in the stands for her, but she still hadn't showed up.

"Maybe she went to go get a drink or something." Kou suggested.

"Let's go get her, then!" Nagisa piped up immediately, standing up from his seat. "I'm pretty thirsty too!"

"Yeah, a drink after all that swimming would be nice." Makoto agreed as Nagisa gave a cheerful whoop and ran off, not even waiting for his friends to catch up.

"H-hey wait! Nagisa-kun, don't run so fast!" Rei exclaimed, quickly getting up to catch up with the enthusiastic blonde. Kou and the others quickly followed suit, all hyped up after their individual successes. Haruka seemed to be the most calm of the bunch, simply quickening the pace of his regular walk as he followed after his friends.

"Those kids are always so energetic." Miss Amakata chuckled, glancing at Aoi, who stood next to her.

"Yeah, well, the perks of being a teenager. Not like us old folks, huh?" Aoi joked, before both he and the young teacher made to leave the stands as well, following after the high schoolers at a more leisurely pace.

As they all approached the turn in the hallway that would take them to the vending machine, however, they managed to pick up on voices just around the corner.

"Is that Byakuya-chan?" Kou asked, recognizing the girl's familiar laughter- though it was joined by another female voice. "Who's she talking to?"

"Let's go see!" Nagisa enthused.

Just as the Iwatobi bunch rounded the corner, they caught a glimpse of Kingyo's captain speaking to Byakuya. But then...

"I'm offering you a place on our swim team."

...What they heard made them freeze. Makoto immediately grabbed Nagisa and pulled him back around the corner, followed quickly by the others as they kept their ears perked to pick up on the conversation. They hadn't intended to spy, but with what they had just heard, they didn't really know what else to do.

"She's trying to recruit Byakuya-senpai again?" Rei whispered incredulously as the Kingyo captain laid down her offer to Byakuya, who was looking increasingly conflicted.

"She won't accept... right?" Kou asked hesitantly. There were definitely some tempting conditions the captain was putting forth, and that only served to increase the Iwatobi bunch's worries. Would Byakuya really accept the recruitment?

"...So, how about it?" Meiko finished. They all held their breaths as they awaited Byakuya's answer, watching the Shion girl closely as she lowered her eyes to the ground and considered the whole thing. When Byakuya finally looked back at Meiko- after what seemed like hours to them- there was a determined look in her brown eyes as she met the older girl's gaze.

"Thank you, Aikawa-san."

That made their blood run cold.

"No way..." Makoto murmured, his eyes wide with shock.

"Bya-kun..." Nagisa muttered, attempting to move towards the two girls. However, a hand on his shoulder stopped him from doing so, and he turned around to see Haru gazing back evenly at him.

"Wait." Haruka said calmly, looking back at the two girls. The others followed his gaze, watching as a wry smile formed on Byakuya's lips.

"But I'm afraid the answer is still no." Byakuya continued lightly. "I'm staying where I am."

"...Heh. Congratulations, Shion. You've passed the test." Meiko responded, a small smile on her face as her voice became lighthearted once more. "Have you figured it out, then? What it means to be a team?"

"Yes. I want to remain by their side- just as they've stuck by mine." Byakuya said firmly, before she continued with a light smirk. "Besides, a swimming career just doesn't appeal to me- you can keep those doors closed."

Meiko just laughed good-naturedly and patted Byakuya on the shoulder, shooting her a grin. "Good to see that you've found your way, Shion. Sure, rejection sucks- twice, at that- but you've got a good head on your shoulders... And a good team, even if they are a bit nosy when they decide to spy on a very important conversation."

"So, you noticed too." Byakuya said, her smirk growing wider. That made the spying teens all tense up, gulping as they did so. They'd been found out?

The Aikawa girl just laughed again and moved a few steps back, getting ready to walk away. "I'll see you around, Shion." Meiko waved, grinning as she left. "Maybe one day you'll change your mind about that swimming career thing."

"Don't hold your breath, Aikawa-san." Byakuya responded.

"You never know!" Meiko called back, smiling as she glanced back over her shoulder. "And I'm still willing to put in a good word for you, Shion- Kingyo or no!"

"...Thank you." Byakuya murmured quietly, a smile of her own appearing on her face. She wasn't sure if Meiko knew it, but the girl had been partially responsible for helping her to figure out her goals. For that, Byakuya was beyond grateful.

"As for you guys..." Byakuya continued, turning around to face where her friends were hiding. Sheepishly, they slowly came out from around the corner as they approached her, shooting hesitant glances at her as if they were afraid she was going to snap at them.

"...Let's go back and celebrate our victory." Byakuya finished, grinning at them.

"You had us worried, Bya-kun!" Nagisa exclaimed suddenly, placing his hands on his hips as he pouted at her. "I thought you'd actually say yes!"

"I thought you were going to leave me to handle these guys by myself!" Kou added exasperatedly.

"Aikawa-san made a very good offer, though..." Miss Amakata mused thoughtfully, though she seemed somewhat relieved to still have the Shion girl still on their team. She'd gotten quite close to these kids- after all, they were the members of the first club she'd ever supervised.

"Are you sure you made the right choice, Byakuya-senpai?" Rei asked worriedly. He hoped the senior hadn't stayed simply because she felt obligated to...

"You guys are more important." Byakuya replied smilingly as she continued in a lighter tone. "Besides, the name 'Shion' in itself opens enough doors. I don't need some fancy swim team."

"I'm glad you chose to stay with us." Makoto added, his eyes kind. "I... We'd miss you if you left."

"You should have had more faith, Mako-chan!" Nagisa said reprimandingly.

"If it wasn't for Haru, you might have gone and interrupted them yourself." Makoto countered, making Nagisa laugh sheepishly.

At this, Byakuya glanced at the raven-haired boy, a startled expression on her face. He gazed back passively, though his blue eyes were bright- sending her a silent message of his own relief at her choice. Byakuya smiled at him- she didn't quite know what it was Nagisa was talking about, but she knew Haru had her back. Even if she couldn't tell what he was thinking half the time... she could count on him.

"Thank you. All of you." Byakuya thanked sincerely, smiling at her companions. "Now c'mon. We gotta celebrate- we all did great!"

"Let's go to that café that recently opened near the mall!" Kou suggested excitedly.

"Oh, I hear they have the best cheesecakes there!" Miss Amakata commented.

"I think I can get Ao-nii to foot the bill, too- so eat your hearts out!" Byakuya added brightly.

"Huh?!" Aoi exclaimed, gaping at his sister- that was the first thing he'd said since he'd caught up to her.

"That's rather mean, don't you think?" Rei commented.

"I don't see how." Nagisa commented curiously. Rei just gave a sigh at that, while everyone else just laughed at the blonde's innocent expression. Byakuya slowed her pace a bit as she walked, falling into step next to her brother. Aoi simply hooked his arm around her shoulders, shooting her a bright smile.

"You did good, kiddo." He praised sincerely. He didn't regret one minute of his tiresome journey back to his home, even if it was for such a short period of time. Seeing his sister here- back to her old, cheerful self- was more than enough to make up for it.

"Thanks, aniki." Byakuya responded, giving her brother a warm smile. However, it soon morphed into a more playful smirk as she continued. "But don't think that flattery will get you out of paying the bill!"

"Oh come on!"

* * *

><p>Early Monday morning, Aoi decided to make his move back to the city. As he hefted the last of his bags into the boot of his car, he heaved a sigh and turned back towards his sister, a broad smile on his face.<p>

"Well, I guess I should be heading off, now." He said nonchalantly, slamming the boot shut. "I'll be back to visit during the hols, alright?"

"Drive safe." Byakuya responded, giving her brother a goodbye hug. "And try not to crash your car."

"Can't guarantee anything, Turtle." Aoi joked, patting his sister's head affectionately. "You take care, alright?"

"Don't worry, aniki." Byakuya reassured. "I'll be alright."

"...I'm glad you've finally found your way, Turtle." Aoi said gently, his smile softening. "Keep at it- you've still got a long road ahead of you. Just make sure you remember what's important."

"I already know that, silly." Byakuya scoffed, though her voice was light. "But if not for you... I might not have learned that. Thank you, aniki."

"We're family, Byakuya. There's no need for thanks- we'll always look out for each other."

"Right." Byakuya responded, her smile small yet genuine. She'd never felt so... uplifted before. It felt great.

"Well, that's that, then." Aoi chuckled, ruffling his sister's dark hair before releasing her. "I'll see ya, Turtle!"

"See ya, Ao-nii..." Byakuya responded, though her voice was a bit hesitant. There was something she wanted to say, but the words were almost stuck in her throat.

"If that's it then-"

"...Wait!" Byakuya called out at the last minute, right before her brother could get into his car. The auburn-haired man looked up, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"Huh? What's up?" Aoi exclaimed. Had he forgotten something?

Byakuya took a deep breath before she uttered her sentence. They were words she was normally too shy and prideful to say to her brother, but now... she figured there was no better time to say them.

"I love you, aniki!" Byakuya blurted out, her tone completely and utterly sincere. Her brother looked stunned for a moment, staring at her with wide eyes as though he couldn't believe his ears. Slowly, though, his expression brightened and his grey eyes crinkled as he grinned back at his sister.

"I love you too, kiddo!" He responded laughingly, winking at her as he ruffled her hair once more. "Make sure you stay in school and all that, alright?"

"Gotcha!" Byakuya responded, her own grin bright. Her brother nodded and gave her one last wave before he got into his car, starting it up as he prepared to drive away. He gave her one last smile through the glass before he took off for the long journey back.

Byakuya watched as her brother's car drove off- until it became nothing more than a speck in the distance. Even after the car was out of sight, the smile never dropped from her face as she headed towards Makoto's house on her way to school that morning.

'Thank you. A hundred, thousand times- thank you.'

* * *

><p>During the school assembly that morning, all the members of the Iwatobi Swim Team were gathered at the front, facing of all the other students. The principal was standing on the podium in the centre, giving a short speech to announce their victory at prefecturals to the whole school.<p>

"Despite being a brand new club," The principal announced. "Our swimmers managed to make the top 8 at prefecturals and qualified for regionals."

It was quite an achievement for the school, and all were pleased for such a win. All the members of the swim team were grinning as they stood in the front, glad to have the spotlight on their club, even for just a moment.

That is, almost all of then.

Byakuya stared hard at the ground, one hand gripping her elbow tightly behind her back. If there was one thing that could reduce her to a stuttering, hopeless wreck, it was crowds. Swimming in front of an audience, she could pull off. Standing in front of them- even if she wasn't talking... not so much. Despite her confident attitude sometimes, she was very nervous about being the centre of attention. Needless to say, she nearly died whenever it came to doing presentations.

When she suddenly felt something squeeze her hand, Byakuya nearly jumped out of her skin. Glancing down, she saw that Nagisa had reached his hand behind her back- out of the line of sight of everyone else- and was shooting her a bright, yet comforting, smile. Returning his grin- albeit shakily- Byakuya nodded slightly at him, reassuring that she was alright. Nagisa simply grinned back at her before releasing her hand and turning back towards the crowd once more. A gentle smile crossed Byakuya's face as she looked back at the ground- really, she was too fortunate to have these guys here for her.

"We hope that they will be able to advance to nationals." The principal concluded- Byakuya had missed most of the speech, but oh well- and the crowd started applauding for the team. "That is all."

Byakuya gave a small sigh of relief when they were given the signal to leave the front, her legs almost turning to jelly in relief- crowds definitely weren't her thing. Nagisa reached out to pat her arm comfortingly, but before he could do so, someone else beat him to it.

"You feeling alright?" Makoto asked as he touched Byakuya's arm, a sympathetic smile on his face.

"Yeah. Perfectly fine." Byakuya reassured quickly, waving it off as she pretended to be unaffected by the whole thing. Makoto just gave a small chuckle- he knew it was an act, but he let it slide. Their interaction was observed carefully by a certain pink-eyed blonde, who wore a thoughtful expression on his face as the gears in his mind started turning...

One could practically see the lightbulb appearing on his head when Nagisa finally got an idea, a wide grin crossing his face. He couldn't go through with it alone though- he needed help. Someone who was close to Byakuya; someone like...

"Hey, Gou-chan." Nagisa whispered insistently, tugging at the girl's sleeve as they all made their way towards their own seperate class lines in the assembly. Kou glanced back at the boy, an exasperated look on her face.

"It's Kou." She corrected simply. How many times did she have to repeat this...

"That's not important!" Nagisa retorted, shushing Kou as he lowered his voice and pulled Kou towards the back of the bunch- a careful attempt to not be heard by the others. "I have a plan- it's about Bya-kun and Mako-chan."

That was enough to catch Kou's attention. Her expression sharpened as she huddled closer to Nagisa, leaning in to hear the plan. She- like the others- were all too aware of the closeness the two seniors shared, and was all too eager to play her part if it meant getting them together. This was taking far too long to progress- it was time to intervene and speed things up.

"What do you have in mind?" She whispered back, her crimson eyes alert. Nagisa gave a sly smile as he laid down his plan.

"Listen closely..."

* * *

><p>"Wow, they were really ready for this." Nagisa commented idly as he and the others stood in front of the school building. A large banner hung from the walls at the front, with the words 'Congratulations to the Swim Club On Making it To Nationals!' On the front.<p>

"It's obvious they reused an old one." Rei corrected as a breeze blew by, shifting the banner slightly to reveal that the words 'Swim Club' had simply been placed over the words 'Judo Club' with another smaller sheet.

"Man, our school is cheap." Byakuya muttered, deadpanning at the sight.

"But still, it's finally starting to sink in that we won." Rei interjected, smiling at the thought. It felt great to accomplish something- especially since it had been done as a team.

"Yep! They'll treat us like heroes once we enter the classroom!" Nagisa sang happily as he practically skipped towards his class, Rei following behind him.

"I should hope not. Assembly was bad enough." Byakuya sighed. Makoto just patted her head sympathetically while Haru remained silent as he contemplated something Rei had said...

"Gou!" A cheerful voice rang out, calling for the attention of the swim club's manager.

"Ah, Hana-chan!" Kou greeted amiably, heading towards her classmate. As she did, she recalled something- Chigusa Hanamura was her best friend, and the one who was going with her to the festival that weekend. And if that was the case... Nagisa probably wouldn't mind another accomplice.

"...We won?" Haruka suddenly murmured, sounding almost confused despite his blank expression.

"Yeah. You all did it together." Byakuya responded, grinning at the boy. Haruka made no comment towards that- he simply looked ahead and headed towards their classroom, leaving his two friends staring after him with vaguely confused and surprised looks on their faces.

"...You never know what he's thinking." Byakuya sighed as Haruka walked out of earshot, blowing her bangs off her face idly as she did so.

"But at least he came back yesterday." Makoto replied, trying to alleviate her worries. Even if he himself was curious as to what Haru was thinking, it was best to let him handle it on his own- Haru could come through it. "For now, that's enough- don't you think?"

"I guess so." Byakuya mumbled, scratching her cheek awkwardly. Haruka was always like this- silently contemplating who-knows-what in that mind of his. She wondered if he was still thinking about his race with Rin, and if he was still worrying about that...

"...Byaku-chan." Makoto called out suddenly, prompting Byakuya to glance back at him. However, she started slightly and raised a brow as she noted that he looked a bit pale, and that he was fidgeting with his neck tie a lot.

"Yeah?" She asked, frowning slightly. Makoto looked almost unwell- was he sick? The Tachibana just took a deep breath, gathering up his courage before he met her eye again.

"About the festival this weekend-"

"Hey, Byakuya-chan!" Kou interrupted suddenly as she called out to the girl. Byakuya looked up to see Kou running up to her, before tugging on her sleeve as she continued. "Come over here a second- I need to introduce you to Hana-chan!"

"Oh. Um, okay." Byakuya nodded, before she turned back to Makoto inquisitively. "What was it you wanted to ask?"

"N-No. It's nothing." Makoto replied quickly, averting his gaze. His expression had changed- was that... frustration?

"You sure?" Byakuya pressed. He certainly didn't look like it was 'okay'...

"Don't worry about it. I'll just ask you later." Makoto reassured, his regular, kind smile returning to his face- it was as if that peculiar expression earlier hadn't even been there in the first place. Byakuya still seemed a bit skeptical, but decided to let it go as she turned around and followed after Kou, who lead her towards her classmate.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Makoto sighed to himself- he'd been so close! It was like every time he tried to make a move, something or someone would get in the way. It was ridiculously frustrating.

"Okay!" Kou announced as she gestured to Hanamura. "Byakuya Shion-chan, this is Chigusa Hanamura-chan! Hana-chan, this is Byakuya-chan!"

"'Sup." Byakuya greeted casually, raising a hand in greeting. The fair-haired underclassman smiled at her in response, bowing slightly towards the older girl.

"It's nice to meet you, senpai!" Hanamura greeted cheerily, her bun bobbing with the movement as she nodded her head. After that, she turned to Kou, shooting her a quizzical glance. "So this is the one who's-"

"Shh!" Kou shushed immediately before Hanamura could finish her sentence, clamping her hand over Chigusa's mouth. "It's supposed to be a surprise!"

"Uh, what is?" Byakuya asked slowly in confusion. Chigusa and Kou just shared another knowing glance, before Kou lowered her hands from Hanamura's mouth.

"Nothing!" Chigusa responded, laughing nervously in response. Byakuya didn't buy it for one second, but before she could question it further, Kou cut in quickly.

"Anyway, we were wondering if you could help us with our Chemistry assignment this Saturday!" She said quickly, successfully diverting Byakuya's attention.

"Saturday..." The Shion girl mused. "Isn't Hachiman-sama's festival this weekend, though?"

"Yeah, we know." Kou nodded. "That's why we're asking if you can come to my place at about 3 or so- then we'll have time to finish our assignment and still be able to go to the festival."

"Sounds okay." Byakuya shrugged. "So, three o'clock, then?"

"Yep!" Kou confirmed, smiling innocently at her friend.

"Thanks, senpai!" Chigusa thanked earnestly, bowing again towards Byakuya, who just waved it off.

"It's no problem." She responded, before making her way towards the school building. Makoto was still waiting for her, and she didn't want to keep him standing there for too long. "I'll see you guys then- I gotta get to class."

"See you, Byakuya-chan!" "Bye, senpai!" The two younger girls waved back at their senior, bright smiles on their faces. As soon as Byakuya turned around, the two girls' expressions turned serious looks as they discussed the real reason behind the request they had asked of their senior.

"So what size do you think we should get for her?" Kou asked, whispering as she made sure their discussion would go unheard.

"I'm thinking M or L- her shoulders are pretty broad." Chigusa mused thoughtfully, placing a hand on her chin as she stared at the senior's retreating back. "We can always tighten the obi to adjust it to her figure."

"Right. I was thinking a green colour for her, too."

"Ooh, that would work."

* * *

><p>Byakuya yawned as she listened to the English teacher drone on and on about... something. She wasn't sure anymore, given that she'd stopped paying attention about ten minutes ago... Oh wait, no, he was talking about something completely unrelated to the lesson. Back to not listening, then.<p>

Byakuya gave another small sigh as she started doodling in her notebook just to kill time. The teachers sometimes thought she was taking notes whenever she did so, but if they'd bothered to look they would have found a plethora of mini tornadoes and senseless scribbles. While she did take notes occasionally, she used an entirely different book to do so. And even then, the handwriting really wasn't much better...

The moment the bell rang to announce the end of the school day, it took a lot of Byakuya's strength not to jump and let out a 'whoop' of relief. Any longer and she was sure she would have fallen asleep...

"Byakuya." A familiar voice called out to her, catching Byakuya's attention as she was packing up her things. Glancing up, she saw Haruka standing in front of her desk, his blank gaze somehow more intense as he caught her eye.

"What is it, Haru-kun?" Byakuya asked. It wasn't often that Haruka approached her first instead of the other way around...

"Come with me." He ordered simply, before turning on his heel and stalking out of the classroom, barely allowing time for Byakuya to even blink.

"Eh?" The Shion girl exclaimed, before she realized what had happened and quickly started shoving everything into her bag. As soon as that was done, she practically leapt over her table to catch up with the Nanase boy. "H-hey! Haru-kun, wait up!"

As Byakuya rushed out of the classroom to chase after Haruka, she failed to notice a particular olive-haired boy staring after his two friends, a perplexed expression on his face.

* * *

><p>AN: So it turns out that plot twist wasn't a plot twist at all. I was actually toying with the idea of having Byakuya change schools... but I couldn't think of a way to do that and still have her stay in contact enough with the Iwatobi bunch to delve into their characters. So for the sake of the plot I couldn't. I'm so sorry to everyone who was hoping for that twist. For that I owe ya'll an extra chapter of this fic (also because I really wanted that twist as well and must console myself, haha!). I'll try to see what I can cook up- probably an extra after the end of the main story ;)<p>

Thanks ever so much to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune and MyFriendsAreMyPower for reviewing, shotasayswhat for favouriting the story, as well as maisenpai34 and usagiXchan for following this fic! *offers you guys my cyber cookies*

See you all next water time!


	39. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

"Where's Haruka-senpai and Byakuya-chan?" Kou asked as she and the other members of the Iwatobi Swim Team headed out of the school building- classes had just ended for all of them, and they were heading towards the pool for their usual extracurricular activities.

"They wandered off." Makoto responded, recalling how the two had run out- well, Haru had been walking while Byakuya did the running- of the classroom earlier. He was still a bit confused as to why that had happened...

"I understand Haruka-senpai, but Byakuya-senpai, too?" Rei inquired. Byakuya rarely ever strayed from the usual bunch...

"Haru asked her along." Makoto explained.

"Maybe they went on a date!" Nagisa suggested cheerfully.

"T-that's absurd." Makoto protested weakly, averting his gaze.

"Did they go home?" Rei mused, thinking of the most common explanation.

"Well, Haru does this all the time." Makoto responded.

"Anyway, we've accomplished our objective of placing in a tournament, so they should give us a bigger budget!" Nagisa continued enthusiastically, changing the topic effortlessly. "And then we can use that budget to swim in a gym all the time!"

"Yep!"

"How can you say that?!" Kou interrupted suddenly, spinning around to glare at the boys. "Weren't you listening to the principal?" She insisted, pointing authoritively at the members of the swim team. "Our next objective is to make it to nationals!"

"Huh?" The others all exclaimed. They hadn't even made it past regionals, and yet they were already expected to reach nationals?

"Always aim high!" Kou said fiercely, throwing her hand into the sky for emphasis as she made her determined exclamation. Her encouraging words seemed to boost the team's spirit, because Nagisa immediately broke out into a wide grin as he faced his teammates once again.

"Okay!" He declared, his pink eyes gleaming with determination. "Let's make it our goal to make it to nationals!"

"Yes!" Rei agreed strongly, pushing up his glasses. He then he pulled himself into a straighter posture, beginning the team's unofficial chant. "Fly..."

"High!" Kou and Nagisa cheered loudly, pumping their fist in the air along with Rei.

"Fly high?" Makoto exclaimed, looking utterly confused. Apparently, this cheer was only known to the underclassmen.

"I'll be the first one in the club room!" Nagisa announced, running off towards the pool without further ado.

"I don't think so!" Kou countered, running after the boy as well. She may have been the only one in the club who wasn't a swimmer, but she sure as hell wasn't going to lose out! She was their manager, and could hold her own just as well, after all.

"You think you can beat a former track and field athlete?" Rei boasted teasingly as he chased after his two friends, gaining much more ground due to his stronger legs. "Watch this!"

Makoto watched in briefly stunned silence as the younger members of the swim team raced towards the club room, leaving him in the dust. As he did so, he couldn't help but smile slightly as the sight brought back a memory from the past...

_'C'mon!' The twelve year-old Byakuya urged grinningly as she pulled his hand. 'Haru-kun and the others are waiting- so keep that smile on your face!'_

Makoto's smile only widened- just as it had back when Byakuya had actually said that to him- and he smacked his face with both his hands to pick himself up. He then pumped his fists as well, feeling the same innocent joy and excitement his teammates were feeling at the prospect of reaching a higher goal by swimming together. It was wonderful- just being happy with them like this- and he would smile right along with them. After all, that was what he'd always wanted.

"Okay!"

* * *

><p>Byakuya fidgeted awkwardly with her swim cap and goggles as she sat by the poolside next to Haru. The two of them were in their swimsuits, having changed into them in their respective dressing rooms before coming out to the pool. Haruka still hadn't said anything about his reasons for leading Byakuya out here- in fact, he hadn't said anything at all. It was becoming quite awkward for the Shion girl, but Haruka just seemed as passive as ever as he stared blankly at the water of the pool.<p>

"..."

"..."

"...So..." Byakuya started nonchalantly, finally having enough of the silence. She was going to burst if she was left to speculate about Haruka's current state of mind any longer. "What's this about?"

Haruka didn't respond for a moment, his unchanging expression not even hinting that he'd heard her question. Just as Byakuya was about to repeat the question, Haruka suddenly turned his azure gaze to her as he responded.

"Why do you swim, Byakuya?" He asked monotonously, though his blue eyes were attentive. Byakuya started at the question, but clasped her hands together in her lap as she pondered the answer.

"Good question." Byakuya mused carefully, though a small smile graced her features. "To be honest, I wasn't too sure of the answer myself until prefecturals."

Here, she paused for a moment, not quite sure how to continue. Haruka just remained silent, though Byakuya could tell he was waiting patiently for her to elaborate. She shut her eyes as she took a few more seconds to think her answer over, before reopening them as she gazed up at the sky.

"I used to swim because it was the only thing I was good at." She confessed honestly. "That's why it hurt so much to lose- because it felt like I was good for nothing without my swimming. But you guys showed me... that there was more to me- and more to swimming." Here, Byakuya brought a hand to her chest, placing it right over where her heart. "If it was just winning that I wanted, then I wouldn't feel this constricting feeling in my chest whenever I think of the way you all swam together."

She had always thought that the boys were closer to each other than she ever was; that she was more of a spectator in their little group. Even that night on the beach when they'd all played that conversation game, she had still thought that way. Despite how much she enjoyed their company, it had sometimes felt strange to be the only girl in the group. It had made her feel insecure, like she couldn't connect with them on the same level- even more so after they swam that relay together all those years ago. However, now, after all that they'd been through...

She realized she had been a fool. She had always been one of them, too. Even if she couldn't swim with them that way... they were still connected by the same thread that held them all together. They were a team.

"What I really wanted was to be with you guys... And that was something I always had. I was just too blind to see it." Byakuya said earnestly, looking back up at Haruka. "All of you- you're the reason that I swim. I do it for the team."

Haruka seemed a bit taken aback at Byakuya's heartfelt statement, her brown eyes bright with emotion as she met his sapphire gaze. Even though she hardly spoke about her feelings, this time she meant what she said- every single word of it. Those feelings were what had held her back from accepting the offer to join Kingyo. But there was one more question Haruka wanted to ask...

"This 'constricting feeling'..." Haruka repeated slowly, placing his own hand over his heart- just like what Byakuya had done earlier. What she'd said about that had stood out to him- mostly because it was the exact same thing he felt whenever he thought about his teammates and the relay. "What exactly is it?"

Byakuya smiled softly when she heard that question, and she answered in a quiet voice. "There are different ways of viewing it. Some would call it longing, an urge, or a need. And some- like myself... would call it love." As she finished her sentence, she caught Haruka's eye once more, brown meeting blue. "What would you say it is, Haru-kun?"

Haruka just kept quiet as looked back at the pool, seeming to consider Byakuya's words. After a long moment, he just stood up, pulled on his swim cap and goggles, and leapt into the pool, not uttering a single peep in response to Byakuya's question.

However, the dark-haired girl just smiled.

"I see." She murmured softly, giving a small, happy chuckle. "So you agree, too."

* * *

><p>"We'll be mainly running drills for now." Kou briefed the members of the swim club as they made their way towards the swimming pool. "Rei-kun, you'll be working on your kick. You'll be training to develop a stronger and faster kick.<p>

"Yes ma'am."

"Nagisa-kun, you'll focus on strengthening your crawl stroke."

"Okay."

"Makoto-senpai, you need to work on making your acceleration more even."

"Got it."

"Let's start warming up, then!" Kou announced as they all reached the top of the stairs, coming into view of the swimming pool. However, they were greeted with the sound of splashing water, and the sight of two very familiar figures pulling off their swimming accessories as they hefted themselves out of the pool.

"Haru! Byaku-chan!" Makoto exclaimed in surprise. They had been here the whole time? Then all that fuss and worry had been for nothing... well, at least they really hadn't been on a date.

"You were already here!" Nagisa cried happily. Then they were all together now- Nagisa always liked it best when he was here with all his friends.

"Yo." Byakuya greeted casually, wringing out her wet hair as she did so. Haruka just shook his head from side to side to clear the water- Byakuya always envied how easily he made it look; it made her wish she had short hair again.

"Here you go!" Kou offered politely as she brought forth some towels for the two seniors, who gratefully accepted the offer.

"Thanks." "Thank you." They both greeted in unison, immediately putting the towels to good use by drying themselves off. Kou just nodded cheerfully, glad to be of assistance to her teammates.

"How long have you been swimming?" She inquired curiously.

"Not very long." Haruka responded shortly, shifting the towel to his head as he dried his hair. Kou wasn't bothered by the short answer- she was used to it by now- and just continued talking.

"It's hot out today, so I brought ice to keep your drinks cold." She commented idly.

"That's a relief. Warm drinks would've been gross on a day like this." Byakuya sighed, though she wore a friendly smile on her face.

"Yeah, I understand. It just feels wrong." Kou agreed.

"I appreciate it." Haruka added. His voice was passive, but Kou knew it was sincere.

"Yeah. Thanks, Kou-chan!" Byakuya grinned. The manager just gave a happy smile as she waited patiently for the two seniors to finish drying themselves off, making idle conversation as she did so. While all this was going on, the rest of the Iwatobi bunch observed the scene curiously from the sidelines.

"Haru-chan's really motivated." Nagisa commented, idly swinging his hands behind his back.

"Maybe he's upset at losing at free." Rei mused. It was plausible- but then again, Haruka had said he didn't care for winning or losing. Maybe he had changed his mind after that race?

"Perhaps." Nagisa nodded thoughtfully. Makoto just silently gazed at his best friend, wondering just what he could have been thinking about. Haruka normally did his thinking on his own in silence, so this shouldn't have been anything new. But this time, Makoto couldn't quite pinpoint what Haruka was thinking about, and it made him a bit worried.

"I'm happy to see you so motivated, Haruka-senpai!" Kou added happily, smiling at the senior. However, his response quickly had her expression turning into one of confusion.

"I'm not. I was swimming because I didn't know what to do." Haruka responded simply, his answer startling everyone. He then pulled off the towel from his head, gazing at the water as he continued. "I figured I should ask the water about matters involving water."

While the others were left a bit perplexed at Haruka's metaphorical statement, Byakuya just gave a small smile at Haru's response, a knowing look in her eye. However, she remained quiet as she shook out her towel, not wanting to interfere. The conversation she'd had with Haru was personal after all, and she couldn't betray that trust.

"What do you mean-"

"Well, everyone's here now." Makoto interrupted Kou before she could finish her sentence, walking up to her as he did so. He knew Haru wouldn't have liked being questioned about his motives for being here- he always was a private person. "Let's begin practice."

Kou seemed a bit surprised at the interruption, but otherwise took what Makoto was saying into account. He was right- they needed to practice for regionals if they ever planned to meet their goals. "Yes, you're right." She agreed, before clapping her hands to gain everyone's attention. "Then, everyone should start by warming up."

"Roger!" "Yes ma'am!" Nagisa and Rei both announced, immediately heading towards the pool as fast as they could. It was an unspoken rule that the two of them would always race towards the pool to see who could get in first.

"Hey, no running!" Kou reprimanded sharply. However- naturally- she was ignored as the two underclassmen dashed forth anyway.

"Come on, Bya-kun!" Nagisa grabbed Byakuya's arm as he passed, catching her completely off guard. As of such, she was pulled along far too easily, dropping her towel on the ground as Nagisa dragged her along- against her protests, might she add.

"H-hey! Don't pull me along like tha-"

"Yahoo!" Nagisa yelled as he jumped into the pool, pulling Byakuya in as well. The girl barely had time to let out a loud cuss before she fell into the water completely against her will.

"Listen to me when I'm talking to you!" Kou exclaimed exasperatedly, placing her hands on her hips.

"I made it in first, Nagisa-kun." Rei announced proudly as Nagisa surfaced, Byakuya right next to him.

"Well you didn't have to drag in Bya-kun! She's heavy!" Nagisa defended, pointing at the Shion girl.

"Be quiet!" Byakuya spluttered in retaliation, before she grabbed Nagisa and dunked him under again. "Who said you could pull me in, huh?!"

"Are you even paying attention?" Kou cried again, growing increasingly annoyed. Really, these guys...

Meanwhile, Haruka and Makoto just stood where they were- having not moved from their spots. Makoto shot Haruka another worried glance, only to see that the raven-haired boy was still as passive as ever. And once again, Makoto found himself wishing that he knew just what it was that was plaguing Haru's thoughts... and wanting him to confide in him, as well.

But even if he didn't, Makoto would always be there for him. After all, that was what best friends were for.

* * *

><p>Byakuya emerged from the water after yet another lap of butterfly, panting as she placed her hands on the poolside and lifted herself out of the water. Her shoulders and chest muscles hurt slightly from all the exertion- she hadn't trained her breaststroke and butterfly stroke so continuously in a long time. Sitting on the poolside, she rolled her arm around a couple of times to work out the kinks, sighing in relief to have a short break after that workout.<p>

"How are you progressing, senpai?" Rei asked as he approached the female senior, carrying along two juice packs with him. He sat down next to Byakuya and handed one packet to her, which she accepted gratefully.

"Thanks." Byakuya thanked gratefully, sticking the straw into her packet and taking a long gulp of it- Rei mimicking her actions. The two of them gave a simultaneous sigh of relief after they took a long sip of their drinks, glad for the cooling sensation it brought after theur strenuous workout. Byakuya then turned to Rei again before she continued. "It's going okay. Though I'm just hoping my last spurt will save me somehow during regionals. You?"

"I believe I'm making progress." Rei responded, before he shot Byakuya a more inquisitive look. "Did Haruka-senpai call you out here earlier?"

"Yeah." Byakuya replied nonchalantly, a small smirk pulling at her lips. "He's sort of disorientated right now, but I'm sure he'll get it together soon enough."

"What kind of question was he talking about?" Rei asked, referring to what Haru had said earlier. While he had grown accustomed to the Nanase's silent demeanour, he was still concerned about his wellbeing. He was somewhat worried that Haruka had too much on his plate, yet still wouldn't let anyone in to give him a hand.

"Just his usual sort of thing." Byakuya shrugged. "Haru-kun's not very good with identifying emotions."

"What do you mean?" Rei inquired.

"That's a secret." Byakuya responded cheekily.

"...Senpai, I have something I want to ask." Rei said suddenly after a moment of quiet.

"Hm?"

"It's about Matsuoka-san."

Byakuya paused as Rei said that, though a wry smile crossed her face. She had guessed that was coming- ever since she had seen Rei looking intently at that picture in Haru's house, it had only been a matter of time until the observant underclassman asked something.

"...He was an old friend." Byakuya replied, not needing Rei to specify what he meant to ask. "We used to go to the same swim club together, he swam a relay with the guys, and then he moved to Australia. After he came back... well, he's what you see today, I guess."

"Don't you know what happened between all of you?" Rei furrowed his eyebrows together in thought. It all seemed so irregular- what could have made Rin so antagonistic towards his old friends all of a sudden? Something wasn't quite right.

"Not really." Byakuya sighed wistfully, remembering what it used to be like when they were all young- things had been so easy and uncomplicated back then. "But I wish I did. I want to fix things, somehow..."

"Senpai?" Rei called out as Byakuya trailed off, getting lost in thought. The girl started as he called her name, and shook her head to clear her focus.

"S-sorry." She apologized, giving a sheepish chuckle. "Just remembered some things from the past."

Rei frowned as he took note of the melancholy look in her eye, halting his questioning. This was clearly a sensitive topic for Byakuya- for all of them, really- and he didn't want to push her into talking about it if she didn't want to. The downcast expression on Byakuya's face quickly brought another idea to him, though...

"I have another question." Rei announced, catching Byakuya's attention again as she looked back at him.

"Yeah?"

"Why on earth would Haruka-senpai ask you of all people to help with identifying emotions?" Rei deadpanned.

"...What are you implying?" Byakuya inquired, her eyes narrowing.

"You're not exactly the emotional kind, senpai." Rei justified simply, adjusting his glasses as he gave a small, almost taunting smile. He remembered Byakuya's method of cheering people up by subtly diverting their attention, and figured that he might as well imitate that concept now. He sort of owed it to her- after all, she'd done her best to cheer him up back during the summer camp, so he might as well return the favour.

"Excuse you, but I'm actually a really sensitive, soft-hearted young lady." Byakuya defended huffily.

"I think you may be confused about the definition of those words, senpai."

"I could kill you and make it look like an accident, Rei-kun."

"That statement only serves to prove my point."

"Shut up, Butterfly-chan."

As the two of them continued their conversation in a more lighthearted and friendly manner, Makoto just watched them from afar as he dried his hair, having emerged from the pool for a short break. He smiled gently at his two friends as they suddenly started laughing at something that had been said, glad to see that the two of them were getting on so well. He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed though- he was hoping to get Byakuya alone now to ask her the question he hadn't gotten to earlier...

"If you're planning to ask Bya-kun out, you have to do it soon, Mako-chan." Nagisa's bright voice teased cheerfully from behind Makoto, making him jump slightly.

"E-eh?" Makoto blanched, staring apprehensively at the blonde boy, who just grinned back at him.

"Don't be shy, Mako-chan~" Nagisa sang, nudging Makoto playfully. "Everyone knows you've been thinking about it!"

"Y-you don't know what you're talking about." Makoto mumbled, turning away to prevent Nagisa from seeing his flushed face.

"I don't?" Nagisa tilted his head, pursing his lips. "Hmm, then it'll be fine if I asked Bya-kun to go with me to the festival instead-"

"Don't even think about it." Makoto cut Nagisa off immediately, his eye twitching slightly as he turned back to glare at the younger boy. Nagisa just grinned cheekily back at his friend- looks like Makoto had taken the bait, then.

"Told you so~"

* * *

><p>Makoto gulped nervously as he fidgeted with his glasses, holding his phone to his ear as he sat on the edge of his bed. It was now evening, and he had been rehearsing his lines repeatedly for almost the whole afternoon by talking to his wall. Finally deciding that he might as well make the move, he had panicked for yet another few minutes before finally gathering up the strength to dial the number he wanted. The line he'd called was ringing, but no one was answering... yet.<p>

The Tachibana boy took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest if it continued beating so fervently, and he tried to reassure himself in an attempt to keep calm. He could do this- it was just a simple request. Call her, ask, and then hang up. Easy. Maybe she would even guess what he was going to say and he wouldn't need to go through the whole process. There was no way he could mess it up, right? What were the odds that-

"Hello?"

Crap. The sound of her voice was enough to send his thoughts into disarray.

"Hello, Byaku-chan." Makoto replied, trying to sound normal. To his credit, his voice only tremored ever so slightly.

"Oh, Mako." Byakuya responded, seemingly unfazed by this whole thing- not like he was. "What's up?"

"Um... Listen, Byaku-chan, I was just thinking..." Makoto trailed off, hesitating. Was he really gonna try to do this? The words felt stuck in his throat- and he wasn't really sure if he wanted to blurt them out. What if she said no? What if she sneered at the mere notion of his request? What if-

"...Yes?" Byakuya prodded after the silence stretched on, snapping Makoto out of his mental debate.

"Well... you know Hachiman-sama's festival is this weekend, right?" Makoto said slowly, practically squeezing out each syllable from his throat.

"Yeah. What about it?" Byakuya asked nonchalantly. Damn, she was completely oblivious. So much for hoping she'd guess what he wanted to ask...

"I-I was just wondering if..." Makoto stuttered, swallowing hard. He inhaled deeply before finishing the sentence, his words coming out in a torrent with that single breath. "If you'd like to go to the festival with me. I mean, yeah, we usually do go together, but this time I mean like, we could go 'together' together. Er, Haru and the others are probably gonna be there too, so it won't exactly be the both of us, but I was just thinking we could still go... well, together."

Boy, did he have a way with words. Makoto wanted to slap himself.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. With each passing second of soundlessness, Makoto felt his heart plummet further. Just when he'd pretty much given up any semblance of hope that she was going to respond positively...

"Yes." Byakuya's voice responded, though he could have sworn it sounded higher than usual. "Yes, I'd like that."

"Y-you sure?" Makoto stuttered out in disbelief. "You don't really have to agree to it-"

"Mako, I'm sure." Byakuya interrupted, her voice still somewhat higher pitched than usual. "Thanks for asking me."

"O-okay." Makoto replied. An awkward silence then fell over them, and Makoto fidgeted with his glasses again before he asked hesitantly. "So... do I, uh, pick you up or anything?"

"Um, I'm going over to Kou-chan's place first, so... I guess I'll meet you there." Byakuya replied, sounding just as awkward as he did. Well, at least he knew now that he wasn't the only one.

"I'll meet you at the shrine with the others, okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay." Makoto confirmed, deciding that he might as well end the conversation now. "I guess that's that, then."

"Right... I'll see you around, Mako."

"Right. See you, Byaku-chan." Makoto said far too quickly, hanging up just as suddenly. After that, Makoto just paused for a long moment, staring at his phone in utter silence.

And then he started laughing breathlessly, grasping his hair in disbelief as his racing heart finally started to slow down. He fell back onto his bed, staring back up at the ceiling of his room and grinning like an idiot as he realized just what had happened.

She said yes. She'd actually said yes.

* * *

><p>Byakuya stared silently at her phone after Makoto had hung up, as if she couldn't quite comprehend what had just transpired. She blinked slowly, the gears in her mind turning at a snail's pace until the pieces finally clicked into place. When they did, she pinched herself, as if making sure that this wasn't a dream. Ouch- nope, still awake. Then that would mean...<p>

Byakuya mechanically lifted her phone back up, scrolling through her contacts and dialling a particular number. Since Makoto was the subject now, there was no way she could confide in him this time. So there was only one person left she could talk to about this...

"Byakuya-chan?"

"Kou-chan..." Byakuya looked up at the wall opposite her room, a spaced-out look on her face as she answered in a dazed voice. "...I think Mako just asked me out on a date."

...

A long silence.

And then both girls started screaming.

* * *

><p>Later that night, a particular blonde Hazuki boy would receive a call from a certain Matsuoka girl. Nagisa picked up his phone after the second ring, eager to hear what Kou had to say- probably something about the 'mission'...<p>

"Hello?"

"Nagisa-kun, the plan worked." Kou informed, her tone eager. "Makoto-senpai just asked out Byakuya-chan."

"About time!" Nagisa exclaimed in happy relief. Looked like that push he had given Makoto earlier had worked, then. "Now, phase two is all yours, Gou-chan!"

"It's Kou." She corrected automatically, before a sly smile crossed her face as she giggled. "And don't worry, Hana-chan and I have gotten everything prepared."

Oh yeah. This operation was going to go perfectly.

* * *

><p>AN: That little memory Makoto had will be expanded upon in the flashback chapter later on. (which will be quite lengthy- since I included some scenes from High Speed as well. Hope ya'll don't mind.) Had to post this chapter early because I'm off to a place with no wifi for the weekend (the agony OTL)<p>

As usual- my gratitude goes out to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, MyFriendsAreMyPower, maggikarps and HeavenlyCondemned for reviewing, yesiambrittany and Chaotic Lesbian for favouriting and following this fic, as well as Romance-Oubliee and theshrewdravenclaw (ayyy I spot me a fellow Potterhead! ;D) for following this story! I'll see you guys next Wednesday!


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

On Saturdays, most kids would kick back and relax after returning home early from school. Saturdays signalled the start of the weekend- during which most students preferred to spend their time either hanging out with friends or lazing around. It was commonplace- heck, some adults did the same thing- even more so during summer. People enjoyed letting off some steam amidst all that hard work and effort.

However, the same could not be said for Rin Matsuoka, who pushed himself to the limit and stayed there.

The crimson-haired boy surfaced from the water as soon as his hands touched the wall, panting heavily as he pulled off his swimming accessories. Looking up at the sky through the glass windows of the indoor pool, he realized with a start that it was already evening- how had so much time passed without his notice? Even so, that probably meant that it was time to call it quits for the day- he would continue the training tomorrow.

To anyone else, the sight of Rin training until the very last possible minute was a regular thing- he'd always been that dedicated to keeping himself in top shape. However, this time there was a very significant difference between the way Rin was training now and the way he had done so before...

And it was that this time, he didn't know what he was training for.

* * *

><p>"Senpai, you're swimming well." Nitori commented cheerfully as he closed his locker door. He was in the changing rooms with the Matsuoka boy, who was pulling on his jacket after his shower.<p>

"I guess." Rin responded monotonously, not really paying attention to what Nitori was saying. His mind was elsewhere, and he just couldn't stop thinking about a particular bunch of swimmers...

"You posted a personal best during the group stage, so it looks like your decision to focus on the 100m free paid off." Nitori commented admiringly, before he added a brief lament. "I wasn't able to make it to the final."

"Yeah, too bad." Rin replied shortly, his eyes unfocused.

"But you have to do your best! I'll do everything I can to support you!" Nitori enthused, spinning around to grin at his senior. Upon seeing Rin's distant expression, however, his grin quickly faded. "Uh, senpai?"

But Rin wasn't listening to Nitori anymore. The underclassman's words had spurred a memory from the distant recesses of Rin's mind- a memory involving one of the people he was just thinking about. The memory wasn't even a particularly outstanding one, yet he recalled it clearly- as if it had happened only yesterday...

_"I'll be supporting you guys all the way!" Cheered a young, dark-haired girl as she hugged all of her friends before their relay. She then shot them all a big, toothy grin- one that they couldn't help but return cheerfully. "Good luck, everyone!"_

Rin didn't even notice as his feet moved mechanically, bringing him out of the locker rooms and into the changing rooms. He plopped himself onto the bench in the changing rooms heavily, feeling extremely exhausted for some reason. Memories and thoughts of his old teammates just kept haunting his mind- even the simplest action or sentence kept reminding him of them...

"Is something wrong?"

Nitori's voice snapped Rin out of his musings, finally registering the younger boy's voice. Rin barely even looked at him as he responded with a quick "it's nothing" and lifted his water bottle to his lips as he took several large, long gulps.

"You were so happy about beating Nanase-san." Nitori commented confusedly, staring worriedly at his friend. He didn't get it- just a couple of days ago, Rin had been over the moon at beating his rival. Now, he just seemed... despondent.

"Yeah." Rin replied, his voice as blank as before.

"Then you can move on now!" Nitori said enthusiastically, trying to cheer Rin up with the reminder. Rin started at the statement, almost forgetting that had been the initial plan- he'd thought that by beating Haru, he could finally move on. Indeed, he had felt that way after the race itself, but then... Seeing them swim in that relay had jumbled up his emotions and thoughts. He just didn't understand it... what was he supposed to do? If beating Haru wasn't what he had wanted, then what did he want?

Before he could think too long on it, however, the door to the changing room opened. A casually dressed Mikoshiba stood in the doorway, shooting the two swimmers still inside the locker rooms a reprimanding look.

"Hey, hurry up. We're leaving." He informed them, frowning ever so slightly. Matsuoka was always the last one to leave the place, and he wondered if that was actually beneficial for his physique. Keeping in shape was important, but overworking one's self didn't help much, either- not to mention the fact that Nitori always stayed behind with him as well.

"Huh? Where are we going?" Nitori asked in confusion, staring at the casually dressed captain with a puzzled look on his face.

"Weren't you listening?" Seijuurou raised an eyebrow disbelievingly at the underclassman, before gesturing out the door with his thumb. "We're off to go pray for victory!"

"Ah, that's right!" Nitori exclaimed as he remembered what Mikoshiba had mentioned earlier. "Today is Hachiman-sama's..."

* * *

><p>'...Festival. It's today.'<p>

She was going to die.

Byakuya gave a small sigh of despair as she rang the doorbell of the Matsuoka household, hands in her pockets as she waited for someone to get the door. She wore a graphic T-shirt and jeans- in other words, what she normally wore. She was going to head straight for the festival after she helped out the girls with their assignments, so she wouldn't have time to change. It wasn't like she really had many fancy things to wear, anyway...

Would Makoto mind that?

When she'd called Kou that day after Makoto had asked her out, the two of them had a good, long spaz fest over the phone, before Byakuya had slapped herself and forced herself to calm down. She had to play it cool- it was just Makoto. Her neighbour who just happened to be her childhood friend and teammate... who also happened to be extremely good-looking, muscular, and definitely appealed to her liking of taller guys.

...Yeah, that didn't help her to keep calm.

The sound of the door unlocking caught her attention once more, and the door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length maroon hair and dark green eyes. Byakuya started for a moment before she regained her composure and smiled at the woman- she had forgotten how long it had been since she'd last seen Mrs Matsuoka.

"Good afternoon, Matsuoka-obasan." Byakuya said politely, bowing before the woman. "It's been a long time."

"Ah, Shion-chan. It's nice to see you again." Kaeda Matsuoka greeted smilingly, inviting Byakuya inside. Despite her age, Kaeda still looked quite youthful- Byakuya could only hope to look that good at that age. "I suppose you're here to get ready for the festival with Gou and Hanamura-chan?"

"Well, actually, they're the ones that'll be getting ready. I'm just gonna help them with their assignment. I'm... well, this." Byakuya laughed sheepishly, gesturing to herself.

"You must be mistaken." Mrs Matsuoka said, somewhat puzzled. "Gou and Hanamura-chan finished their assignment yesterday, and I could have sworn Gou said she rented three-"

"Oh hi, Byakuya-chan! You're here!" Kou's voice interrupted quickly, and the two of them turned around to see the girl rushing down the stairs, her hair pulled back into a messy bun. Kou latched onto Byakuya's arm as she reached the ground floor, and she pouted at her mother. "Mom, don't spoil the surprise!"

"Surprise?" Byakuya exclaimed in confusion. What was she talking about?

"Oh, was it supposed to be one?" Mrs Matsuoka started, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry dear, I didn't know."

"Ohh, it's okay." Kou responded, waving it off. "We still have more stuff planned, anyway."

"What are you..." Byakuya trailed off, trying to put the pieces together. Mrs Matsuoka thought she was here to get ready for the festival. Then she'd said Kou had rented three... something. Three what? What could that have anything to do with the festival...

Oh. No. No no no no-

"We'll be down once we're done, mom!" Kou added happily as she pulled Byakuya along by the arm, almost dragging her up the staircase to her room.

"Alright, you girls!" Mrs Matsuoka called back. Though she found the situation a bit peculiar, she didn't comment on it.

"Kou-chan, this isn't about what I think it is... is it?" Byakuya asked tersely, her eyes wide. After what she'd told Kou about that day as well, it seemed to fit the bill...

"You'll see~" Kou sang mischievously, only further increasing Byakuya's growing dread as they approached her room.

"She's here!" Kou announced as she threw open the door to her room. Byakuya's eyes widened in horror as she beheld the sight before her...

Curlers. Hair pins and brushes. _Makeup_.

All of these and more were scattered around Hanamura, who was sitting in the centre of the room. The expression she wore was the same one Kou was wearing- a happy, yet somehow devious, grin.

"Just in time!" Chigusa clapped her hands in excitement. "We just finished getting the things ready for your makeover!"

"M-m- what?" Byakuya peeped out fearfully.

"We have to get you ready for your date, of course!" Hanamura insisted. At that, everything clicked into place, and Byakuya turned around slowly to stare at Kou in disbelief.

"You traitor." She accused, her voice strained. Why hadn't she just called Haru instead...

Oh yeah. Because he was Makoto's best friend. And squealing about Makoto to him would either have him listening on in awkward silence or hanging up immediately. But Byakuya was beginning to wonder if that might have been a better outcome than this.

"I'm doing this because I care, Byakuya-chan." Kou responded seriously as she turned to shut the door behind her.

As she did so, Byakuya couldn't help but feel as if Kou was sealing the only escape route from her doom.

* * *

><p>"Your hair is so rough!" Kou cried in frustration as she grasped a handful of Byakuya's hair. "What do you use for shampoo? Chlorine?"<p>

"I swim in a pool, in case you haven't noticed." Byakuya deadpanned, wincing as Kou ran a brush through her hair.

"Don't you use conditioner?" Chigusa asked as she, too, winced while she examined the split ends of the Shion girl's hair.

"What's conditioner?" Byakuya asked in confusion.

The two girls stopped all activity as they heard that. They just stared disbelievingly at Byakuya, who cringed under their scrutiny. Had she said something wrong?

"...We need to get to work." Kou declared immediately, turning to face Hanamura solemnly.

"Fast." Hanamura nodded in agreement.

Byakuya wished she had kept her mouth shut.

* * *

><p>It had only been twenty minutes since Byakuya had showed up at Kou Matsuoka's place, and she was already absolutely, positively sure of one thing...<p>

If what she was currently being put through was karma, she didn't know what she'd done to deserve it.

Being forced into the bathroom, with the two girls throwing a bottle of conditioner at her- which, quite honestly, Byakuya just deduced was really slippery, hard-to-wash-out shampoo- wasn't so bad. It was what came afterwards that really tested her. The two girls seemed ecstatic once her hair had smoothed out, and were more than eager to try all sorts of twists and braids and heaven-knows-what kind of styles on her hair, leaving Byakuya's scalp sore from all the tugging. She couldn't do anything about it, though- they had her by the hair. If she tried to struggle, they would simply pull one of her black locks to make her yelp and shut up.

Byakuya swore these girls only wore their innocent guise to fool people into believing they were harmless. Women were demons- manipulative, deceptive demons who seemed to enjoy playing dress-up way too much.

"You see how much nicer your hair looks when you brush it properly?" Chigusa asked cheerfully as she leaned forth to adjust Byakuya's bangs. The Shion girl was sitting with her back towards the mirror, so she couldn't see what the other two girls were doing to her hair, much to her dismay.

"What's wrong with the way I usually do it?" Byakuya deadpanned, having given up on fighting against these girls. There just wasn't any point to it...

"You're going to wear a yukata, Byakuya-chan." Kou reprimanded as she continued to style the hair at the back of Byakuya's head. "You can't have such messy hair in a yukata! It's not done!"

"I know _I'm_ done." Byakuya sighed sarcastically.

"Actually, you are!" Kou declared as she put down her hands and backed away from Byakuya to get a better view of her creation. Hanamura did the same as she scrutinized the product of their hard work...

And then both girls grinned and high-fived each other.

"That good?" Byakuya asked, raising an eyebrow. Now her curiosity was piqued...

"C'mon, take a look!" Hanamura said eagerly, spinning Byakuya around to face the mirror on the dressing table. Byakuya had to blink a couple of times as she stared at her reflection, not quite comprehending what she was seeing.

"...Wow." She finally murmured, having to reach up to touch her face to make sure that was actually herself she was seeing in the mirror. Her hair was done up in an elegant twist, which was held up by a floral hairpin. Her normally messy bangs were also noticeably tamed, with the left side brushed back and the rest framing the right side of her face. "You guys really know what you're doing."

"Thank you." Kou responded daintily, before she sat herself down on the chair where Byakuya had sat earlier, shaking out her own crimson hair. "Now come on, Byakuya-chan! You have to help Hana-chan with my hair now!"

"But I don't know how to style hair." Byakuya protested as she fumbled with a hairbrush that was thrown into her unskillful hands.

"Just pass me what I need and pin up anything I need help with, senpai." Chigus mumbled as she moved behind Kou, holding a couple of pins in her mouth as she began to brush out her friend's hair.

"O-okay..." Byakuya responded hesitantly as she, too, began to brush out Kou's hair.

As Byakuya watched Chigusa take over the majority of the hair styling, she couldn't help but feel awed and wonder just how girls did this by themselves sometimes... and she also made a silent oath to learn as much as she could from this hellish experience.

* * *

><p>"Now," Kou announced as she opened her closet and pulled out a red yukata with lotus patterns, paired with a yellow obi. "Time to put on our yukata!"<p>

"This one's yours, Byakuya-senpai!" Chigusa added as she handed a light green yukata with cherry blossom patterns to Byakuya, who took it hesitantly.

"You actually got one for me?" Byakuya asked in surprise, examining the white obi that came with the yukata. "How much do I owe you-"

"Oh, there's no need for that!" Chigusa interrupted quickly, waving it off as she took out her own light pink, floral-patterned yukata and headed into the bathroom to get changed.

"Hana-chan's mom runs a yukata rental store." Kou explained. "So we managed to rent these for free!"

"For real?" Byakuya murmured in awe, almost not believing that they would go through the trouble of doing all this for her. "Th-thanks, you guys..."

"It's no problem, Byakuya-chan!" Kou said cheerily, patting Byakuya on the back in a friendly manner. "That's what friends do for each other."

"Huh?" Byakuya blinked in surprise.

"Haven't you ever done something like this with your friends before?" Chigusa asked curiously from inside the bathroom, having heard Byakuya's exclamation.

"I... don't think Mako or Haru-kun would have appreciated wearing skirts and doing each others' hair." Byakuya mumbled in response, cringing slightly at the mental image that left in her head. No matter how attractive she thought he was, drag queen Makoto was still a pretty disturbing picture.

"Oh." Kou blinked, wincing slightly. She'd obviously made the mistake of trying to fit the image of the two swim club guys to Byakuya's statement as well.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, then!" Hanamura announced as she exited the bathroom, struggling to tie back her purple obi.

"Come on, Byakuya-chan," Kou called as she walked over to Chigusa and helped to tie the girl's obi. "You'll help me tie my obi later, too."

"Right." Byakuya nodded, paying close attention to how Kou did the obi- yep, she had no idea how some people were supposed to do this on their own sometimes. After that was done, Kou changed into her yukata next, followed by Byakuya herself. Once that was all over, Byakuya couldn't help but heave a small sigh of relief at finally being done with everything...

"Wait, Gou-chan!" Hanamura called suddenly, running up to Kou and handing her a small, long bottle. "You forgot something!"

"Ah right! The finishing touches!" Kou exclaimed, quickly taking the bottle from Hanamura. She quickly unscrewed the lid, and pulled out the eyeliner brush, before turning to Byakuya expectantly.

"No." The dark-haired girl protested immediately, backing off. "Absolutely not. I agreed to let you guys do my hair, and put me in a yukata... but I will NOT let you do that."

"It's just a bit of makeup, Byakuya-chan." Kou insisted, pouting at Byakuya. Hanamura was standing at the dressing table again, using her own makeup.

"Besides, you clean up very nicely, senpai." Chigusa commented idly as she outlined her upper eyelid. "What harm is there in taking it a step further?"

"A lot of it, that's what..." Byakuya mumbled in response. She really hoped Makoto wouldn't think she was trying too hard...

"Just close your eyes- it'll only take a minute!" Kou ordered authoritatively, sitting the taller girl down on the bed. Byakuya obediently obeyed the order- knowing deep down there was no way she was getting out of this anyway.

"So... this is a normal thing for girls?" She asked awkwardly as Kou drew the brush along her waterline.

"Yep." Kou responded simply, not tearing her focus away from her work. Putting on eyeliner was tedious work.

"I see..." Byakuya mused quietly. If she thought about it, this wasn't actually all that bad. It was kind of fun to be able to bond with her girl friends like this...

"Plus, it's fun to have a life-sized doll to experiment on." Chigusa added cheerfully as she finished up her own eyeliner, nodding in satisfaction as she looked at her reflection.

"...Okay. That fluffy feeling is gone now." Byakuya mumbled under her breath. Kou then gave her the 'okay' to open her eyes, and she blinked a couple of times to get used to the new feeling.

"Oh yeah," Hanamura added as Kou took her turn in front of the dressing table, putting on her own makeup. Chigusa then handed a small, pink tube to Byakuya, who looked at it curiously. "Here. I got this for you."

"Why would you suddenly ask me to use..." Byakuya scrutinized the label closely. "Strawberry lip balm?"

"You do know how to use it, right?" Kou asked skeptically, turning around briefly to raise an eyebrow at Byakuya.

"I'm not that hopeless." Byakuya defended, though her expression still remained puzzled. "But why this?"

"Just in case." Chigusa responded vaguely.

"Just in case of what?" Byakuya prodded.

"Never mind. Just put it on." Hanamura waved it off, averting her gaze as she took out her mascara bottle.

"...Whatever." Byakuya sighed, concluding that this was just another girl thing. As she moved to share the mirror with Kou, she had to do a double take- she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Kou's skillful hands had applied the eyeliner perfectly- subtle and not too attention-catching, yet still enough to enhance her eyes. Combined with her new hairstyle and the yukata she was wearing, she looked completely different. Almost... ladylike.

...

Holy shit.

* * *

><p>Rin's crimson eyes were vacant as he and Nitori made their way out into the Iwatobi station stop, having just arrived near the location of Hachiman's Festival. The Matsuoka boy's poker face remained unchanging as he surveyed the area, while his companion was all smiles- making up for Rin's own gloomy demeanour.<p>

"I'm a fan of yukata. We should have worn ours." Nitori commented as he saw all the other citizens around them, most of whom were dressed in said apparel. Rin didn't respond, but Nitori continued anyway as he saw the senior surveying the streets, which were lined with strings of bright lanterns. "Oh, I believe you're familiar with this area, senpai."

"I guess." Rin responded idly, though he averted his gaze elsewhere. He couldn't stand looking at the street before him- it was the exact same one he had dreamed of that time in his nightmare. Just looking at it made him remember all that desperation he'd felt as he chased his father in that dream...

"Oh, there he is!"

The voice of a young boy caught Rin's attention, and he turned his head towards the source of the noise. He spotted a group of kids- probably aged about 12 or so- all hanging around under a tree as they waited for another boy who quickly caught up to them. Ironically, Rin noted that there were a total of five kids in total- one of whom was a girl with her hair tied in pigtails.

"You're late!" One of the boys reprimanded the latecomer, his tone playfully exasperated.

"Sorry about that!" The other boy apologized, panting slightly from the exhaustion as he adjusted his light green cap.

"Don't worry about that!" The girl interjected. "Onii-chan and I just got here, ourselves!"

"And you had the nerve to tell me off?" Green Cap taunted, smirking at the boy who had reprimanded him earlier.

"How much money did they give you?" Another boy cut in eagerly, nearly bouncing in excitement.

"I got a lot!" Another guy responded as the group of them fell into a huddle, discussing their plans for the evening.

"We have to try candy apples!"

"Huh? But I wanna play shooting games..."

"We still can! But candy apples come first!"

As the kids continued to debate the topic of their activities, Rin continued to watch them, a blank expression on his face. Those group of kids... they just reminded him so much of what he and his friends used to be like. All so happy and carefree...

Just what was this painful pressure in his chest?

* * *

><p>"We were supposed to meet up with Byakuya-senpai here, right?" Rei asked as he pushed up the sleeve of his dark blue yukata to get a look at his watch. He and the others had just arrived at Hachiman's shrine- right on time, too. They had all agreed to come here to pray for their team's victory first, and Byakuya should be around here somewhere...<p>

"Mmhm!" Nagisa nodded, pulling up the hem of his yukata slightly as he stood on his tiptoes, trying to look at the faces in the crowd. There were loads of people who were here to offer their prayers to the water deity, and it was very difficult to tell if their friend was even here yet. "She didn't oversleep again, did she?"

"It's already evening, Nagisa-kun." Rei corrected, also looking around to see if he could spot the senior. It shouldn't be too difficult- lots of people were dressed in yukata, so he just needed focus on the people who were casually dressed.

"It's happened before." Haruka commented, his expression solemn. He almost hadn't come here himself- it was only after a bit of persuasion on Makoto and Nagisa's part that he decided that he might as well. After all, it would be nice to be able to offer a few prayers for victory as a team.

Plus, Makoto had told him that he'd asked Byakuya out. He had to be there to offer moral support for his friend, especially since Makoto was utterly clueless about the whole dating process.

"I don't think that's the case this time, though. Byaku-chan mentioned that she was going to meet Gou-chan first." Makoto quickly added upon seeing Rei's appalled expression. Despite his seemingly normal disposition, Mako was actually pretty nervous about this whole thing. He'd spent at least an hour sitting in front of his closet, wondering if he was going to go with something simple or something a bit more formal. In the end, he'd decided to play it safe and go with cool and casual- a white button up T-shirt and slacks, with a dark grey jacket tied over his shoulder.

She wouldn't think it was too casual, would she? Or would she think he was trying too hard? He wouldn't get stood up or anything, would he? What if-

"Over here, you guys!" A familiar, female voice called out, catching all their attentions. They quickly located the source of the sound, barely spotting a hand waving above the crowds closer to the entrance to the shrine.

"Ah, there she is!" Nagisa announced cheerfully, not hesitating to drag Rei along as he made his way towards Byakuya's position. The others followed suit, expecting to see their familiar, dark-haired teammate and her usual grin. However, as they came closer to the source of the voice...

"Byakuya?" Haruka's eyes widened slightly. His surprise was clearly displayed on his face in a rare show of emotion, but it was for a good reason...

Byakuya was wearing a yukata.

Byakuya Shion- tomboy, crass, and unfeminine in every sense of the word... was wearing a yukata.

...

Did they have the right person?

"The hell are you guys staring at?" The girl growled, raising an eyebrow at them.

Yep. That was her, alright.

"Is that really you, Bya-kun?! You look nothing like your usual self!" Nagisa exclaimed, his jaw dropping in absolute shock. Even if he had been in on the plan Kou and Chigusa had set up, this was way beyond what he had expected. Byakuya just scowled at them.

"Thanks for the encouraging comment." She grumbled out, scratching her nose in an attempt to hide her reddening face.

"D-don't get us wrong, Byakuya-senpai!" Rei added quickly, trying to save the situation despite his own stunned state. "It's just... We never expected this, that's all."

"Trust me, neither did I." Byakuya sighed. After a moment of silence, her eye twitched and she snapped at them. "Why don't you take a picture?! It'll last longer!"

"Okay!" Nagisa agreed quickly, whipping out his phone and snapping a picture before Byakuya could react.

A vein popped in her forehead.

"You little-"

"I wasn't aware that Byakuya-senpai was the kind who would consent to wearing a yukata." Rei commented, pushing his glasses up habitually as Byakuya proceeded to lunge at Nagisa, who tried to prance away as he jested at her. Now that she was acting more like her usual self, it was a little bit easier to associate the image of the elegant young lady in front of them with the crass, casual teen they were used to seeing.

"Yeah." Haruka agreed, blinking one last time to make sure he was seeing things correctly. He then slowly turned his sapphire gaze up to his best friend, who- surprisingly- hadn't said a word since Byakuya showed up.

Makoto was just staring at the Shion girl, starry-eyed and mouth agape.

"Uh, Makoto-senpai? Are you alright?" Rei asked hesitantly. "Senpai?"

"...Wow." Makoto murmured absently, a wide, goofy smile suddenly crossing his features as Byakuya started suffocating Nagisa in an attempt to grab his phone. One would have thought Christmas had come early for the the Tachibana if they saw the expression on his face.

The corners of Haruka's lips twitched upwards slightly as he glanced away. His best friend was absolutely smitten.

* * *

><p>AN: And so, the awkward romance begins. *deep sigh because I am never getting used to writing this sort of thing*. Here's to hoping I don't fumble up xD<p>

Thanks ever so much to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, MyFriendsAreMyPower, Mazgrl98, maggikarps, Forgetful Insanity and Heavenly Condemned for reviewing, Jikola and Sarcastic Raven for adding this fic to your follows and favourites, Bedcott and tessisbestnz for favouriting this story, and Mazgrl98, PhoenixRage92, OftheNight511 and K9Train for following this fic! Thank you all for the support! 8D


	41. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC**.

Byakuya cursed the day clogs were invented. Actually- if she thought about it- that would have been a very long time ago. Thank goodness she hadn't been born in that era then- just the thought of wearing these things everyday made her feet ache. Then there was the issue of the yukata she was wearing, too. The thing was limited her movements- since she was so used to wearing pants, having to take such small steps while wearing the yukata annoyed her to no end.

She swore that if she stumbled over a bump in the road again, she was going to scream.

"Squid!" Nagisa exclaimed, pointing at a stall that had a rack of dried squid hung up. "Squid!" Another stall selling barbecued squid. "Squid!" Squid on menus everywhere. "Candy apples!" A candy apple stand- probably the only stall that sold something besides squid. "Squid!" Dear lord, even the toys were shaped like squids.

In other words, the festival was the same as it always was.

"Wow, there's squid everywhere, alright! Nothing's changed." Nagisa enthused, his pink eyes shining with joy.

"Just squiddy." Rei commented, adjusting his glasses casually as he did so.

"So where should we start?" Nagisa asked cheerfully, turning around to face Makoto.

"Food, maybe?" Byakuya suggested.

"Don't ignore me!" Rei exclaimed, his eyebrow twitching at having his- in his opinion, pretty good- pun ignored.

"Squid Catching Heaven is about to start." Makoto pointed in the direction of the event, apparently not hearing Rei's indignant exclamation.

"What kind of weird event is that?" The bluenette asked in confusion. The others finally seemed to notice him as he said that, and they all turned to him with expectant looks on their faces. Rei regretted his words instantly. "And why are you looking at me?"

"Rei-chan-"

"I refuse." Rei interrupted immediately, cutting Nagisa off before he could even finish the suggestion.

"You should participate!" Nagisa insisted.

"No way! It sounds so... slimy." Rei shuddered at the notion.

"It is." Byakuya agreed solemnly.

"That's not encouraging." Rei deadpanned.

"Give it a try!" Nagisa added insistently.

"Absolutely not!"

"I can't imagine Rei-kun doing something like squid catching... do it."

"Don't encourage this!"

As the banter continued back and forth between the trio, Haruka idly glanced around at the various stalls, not paying attention to what was being said. There wasn't any way that Rei was going to agree to it anyway, no matter how hard they pushed...

The Nanase paused as he spotted one particular stall- a game stall, at that. Placed out in front of the stand was a large basin that was filled with water, and on the surface floated plenty of colourful balloons, all of which- Haru knew from experience- were filled with water. It was a popular carnival game here at these festivals: yo-yo tsuri. It also happened to be one of Haru's favourite games- mostly because he was an expert when it came to fishing games. Not to mention that he and his friends used to love playing that game whenever they came with him to festivals, too...

As Haruka stared wistfully at the game stand, his inattentiveness was not lost on Makoto, who glanced worriedly at his best friend. He hoped that Haru would be able to have fun today- it was a day to just hang loose and forget all about the stress and tension of everything they were going through, after all. That had been the main purpose that he and Nagisa had invited Haru out to join them...

"Oh, the event's over there!" Nagisa announced eagerly, quickly dashing towards the space in the festival area where Squid Catching Heaven was going on. "Let's get going!"

"W-wait up!" Rei called out, rushing to catch up with the enthusiastic blonde. Really, Nagisa's speed would give even the best track and field athlete a run for his money.

"Not happening." Byakuya sighed as the two underclassmen ran off, unwilling and unable to dash after them. It wasn't fair that men's yukata allowed more room for movement than the ones made for girls.

"Haru," Makoto called out, gaining Haruka's attention as he started upon being called. "We don't want to lose sight of Nagisa and Rei."

"Y-yeah." Haruka muttered in response. He'd gotten so lost in his thoughts and memories as he watched the yo-yo tsuri stand that it took him a moment to regain his bearings. As he followed after Rei and Nagisa, Makoto and Byakuya exchanged a look.

"No idea what he's thinking?" Byakuya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sort of." Makoto admitted, giving a sheepish chuckle.

"Nothing new there, I guess." Byakuya sighed again, before a worried look crossed her face. "You don't suppose he's still hung up about..."

"That's enough of that." Makoto interjected as he lifted his index finger in front of her face, shooting her a reprimanding look. "This is our day off, alright? So no thinking about anything else besides having fun."

"But-"

"That's an order from your swim team captain." Makoto interrupted again, a smile threatening to break his stern face. Byakuya blinked again in surprise, before she finally got the message and a laugh escaped her lips.

"Aye aye, sir." She responded playfully, giving a mock-salute. Makoto chuckled as well, reaching up to ruffle her hair before he stopped himself in time- he didn't want to mess up her hair when it was done up so nicely.

"Let's go catch up with the others, then." Makoto suggested.

"Yeah." Byakuya agreed, moving to head in the direction of the squid-catching event... Until she forgot- again- that she was wearing a yukata, and that she couldn't take one of her usual big steps.

The Shion girl stumbled for what felt like the five-hundredth time that evening, emitting a small squeak as she did so. Much to her relief, her olive-haired companion quickly grasped her arms and pulled her upright again- successfully stopping her from face-planting in what would have been her most embarrassing moment yet. However, the relief Byakuya felt quickly turned to chagrin as she realized how close they were after her little slip-up- she was almost leaning against his chest as he helped her to keep her balance. She felt her face heating up immediately as she stood up properly again; even more so when Makoto shot her a small, teasing smile when he caught her eye.

"I think you should just hold on to me." Makoto suggested, grasping Byakuya's hand in his as he tugged her along, making sure to walk slower so that she could keep up. Byakuya just blushed profusely at his jest, feeling like a complete idiot. Well, at least there was a small upside to this- she now had an excuse to hold Makoto's hand...

...

Okay, so that was actually a pretty big upside. She wasn't complaining.

* * *

><p>Squid Catching Heaven was an event that was held during Hachiman's Festival every year without fail. As the name suggested, during the event participants- mostly men- would wade barefoot in a tank of water that was filled up to about calf level, attempting to catch as many live squids that were in the tank as possible within a set amount of time. It was a test of reflexes, speed and timing, and there was a pretty great prize for the winner. Not to mention that it was also fun for onlookers as they watched participants flop into the water whenever they slipped up. Naturally, it was a big hit during the festival, and this year wasn't any different.<p>

"It looks fun!" Nagisa laughed as a guy fell into the water, bringing down another participant with him. The blonde turned to his blue-haired companion, who also seemed to be enjoying the event. "You can still join in, Rei-chan!"

"Not happening." Rei responded immediately, his facial expression not even changing. Clearly, he had already gotten used to the blonde's attempts at persuading hin to join the event.

"What about you, Mako-chan?" Nagisa tried next, glancing at the olive-haired boy.

"I'll pass." Makoto replied sheepishly. The last time he'd tried his hand at the event, he had gotten completely drenched. It wasn't something he was too eager to try again.

"They're barefoot, right?" Byakuya mused, staring thoughtfully at the participants of the event.

"Byakuya-senpai, you aren't actually considering...?" Rei trailed off, staring at Byakuya in disbelief.

"If it means I can take off these darn clogs, why not." Byakuya shrugged. Rei deadpanned- even with that elegant appearance she had now, she was still as brash as ever.

"Hey, you're all here!" A familiar voice called out, catching all their attentions. Turning towards the source of the voice, they spotted a familiar redheaded girl dressed in a crimson yukata, along with her fair-haired friend.

"Oh? Gou-chan!" Nagisa greeted cheerfully as the two girls approached them, both clutching fried squid on sticks in their hands.

"H-hello." Chigusa Hanamura greeted politely, somewhat shy to be in the presence of so many people she wasn't quite familiar with.

"You're wearing yukata, too!" Nagisa observed, subtly winking at the two girls- yep, he'd definitely asked the right people for help with Byakuya, alright. The message wasn't lost on the two girls, who grinned back at him.

"You both look cute." Makoto added as well, and both Chigusa and Kou seemed to perk up at the compliment.

"You mean just our yukata?" Hanamura responded cheekily.

"N-not really..." Makoto stuttered, thrown somewhat off-guard. Everyone seemed amused at that, and laughed lightly at his confused expression.

"So, Makoto-senpai." Kou called cheekily, throwing her arm around Byakuya in a friendly manner. "What do you think of what we did with Byakuya-chan, hm?"

"You guys did this?" Makoto asked, surprised. Now that he thought about it, all three girls did have similar themes in their appearance with their floral yukatas as well as matching hairpins. It did make sense, seeing as Kou would be the only one capable of getting Byakuya into that ensemble.

Makoto made a mental note to thank those two girls for getting Byakuya to do so- he owed them immensely for such a sight.

"Wouldn't you believe it." Byakuya mumbled, wincing a bit as she recalled what she had to go through just to look like this for a couple of hours.

"So? What do you think?" Hanamura repeated insistently, waiting expectantly for Makoto's answer.

"You don't have to answer that-"

"I think she looks very pretty." Makoto replied sincerely, interrupting Byakuya before she could finish her sentence.

"So are you saying Bya-kun only looks pretty today, Mako-chan?" Nagisa asked, grinning mischievously at his friend.

"T-that's not it! She looks pretty all the time!" Makoto defended. As soon as he registered what he'd said (and spotted the satisfied look that crossed Nagisa's face) he started spluttering as he glanced back at Byakuya, who looked just as embarrassed as he felt. "I-I mean- that wasn't- what I meant was-"

"Don't take it back." Haruka muttered almost exasperatedly under his breath- just loud enough for Makoto to hear. Makoto didn't hesitate to snap his mouth shut immediately, heeding Haruka's advice before he made a fool of himself.

"People can faint from too much blood rush to their face." Rei commented as he observed Byakuya's crimson face, though he seemed somewhat amused himself.

"Shut up." Byakuya mumbled, ducking her head immediately. This only seemed to amuse everyone else as they laughed harder, distressing both Makoto as well as the Shion girl. Haruka remained silent, but as he looked in the other direction, Nagisa could have sworn he saw the Nanase trying to fight off a smile.

"Should we get something to eat?" Rei as they all started to regain their composure. He figured he should spare his two friends further embarrassment by changing the topic.

"Sure." Makoto agreed quickly, seeking a way to defuse the situation.

"I recommend the squid paella." Chigusa suggested, taking another bite of her fried squid. If there was one thing she had to regret about festivals, it was that there was too much food and too little time to try them all.

"Sounds delicious!" Nagisa exclaimed. The boy had the appetite of a horse.

"Well, we'll be watching the Squid Ink Calligraphy contest." Kou announced, glancing at the time on her phone- her artistic side had her longing to watch that particular event. As she placed her phone back in the folds of her obi, she moved closer to Byakuya to whisper into her ear. "Remember the lip balm, Byakuya-chan!" She said lowly, winking at the Shion girl.

"Why are you reminding me again?" Byakuya asked, perplexed. Kou had managed to talk her into bringing the lip balm with her earlier, telling her to make sure she kept applying it if it came off.

"Just a reminder~" Kou giggled, smiling cheekily at her friend as she backed away.

"See you guys later!" Hanamura waved as she and Kou went on their way.

"Okay, bye!" Nagisa called back in response, the others also waving as the two girls left their group.

"What do you guys want to eat?" Makoto asked, turning to face his friends again.

"We have to start with fried squid!" Nagisa announced, grinning. Fried squid was an unofficial traditional snack in all festivals, so it would only make sense to start with that.

"I want squid tempura." Rei mused in objection. He definitely preferred the more sophisticated traditional foods. Makoto just laughed pleasantly- it was strange to see how different those two were, yet somehow they both seemed to get on so well.

"Let's look around, then." He concluded, coming to a decision that would please everyone.

"Oh, I could go for some paella!" Nagisa added as well, pumping his fist enthusiastically.

"You planning on trying one of everything?" Byakuya asked teasingly.

"Why not?" Nagisa asked, pointing at Byakuya as he continued. "You can give me a hand, Bya-kun!"

"I don't even know how girls eat while wearing this thing." Byakuya protested. The obi wound around her waist was sort of constricting.

"Let's see what's available." Makoto suggested.

"Rei-chan, let's check out this stall! There are loads of people here!" Nagisa exclaimed, tugging on Rei's sleeve as he dragged his companion to another stall. Rei didn't even protest- he was already used to this.

"How can he still run so fast in that thing?" Byakuya asked. It was so not fair...

"He's more accustomed to it." Makoto responded simply as the three of them continued their walk.

"Lucky." Byakuya muttered, before she leaned forth to glance at Haru, who was silent. "What do you wanna check out first, Haru-kun?"

"Anything is fine." He responded monotonously, looking at the stalls they passed by.

"Wanna try a fishing game?" Byakuya asked knowingly, a teasing tone in her voice- Haru's efficiency and liking for games didn't escape her notice. Haruka just shot her a vaguely annoyed look, knowing that there was no point denying it.

"We'll have a go at them later, alright?" Makoto suggested, knowing all too well that his friend would enjoy such an activity. Haruka was actually quite fond of games, despite his serious nature.

"Whatever." Haruka responded, looking away again. Even if they were correct, he still wasn't too keen on having his thoughts being read so easily... those guys knew him far too well.

But then again, that was just another perk that came with having childhood friends.

* * *

><p>"Squid burgers..." Nagisa read aloud fron the menu sign hanging on a stall. That sounded interesting- the price was reasonable, too.<p>

"I'm interested in trying squid and chips..." Rei mused as he stood next to Nagisa. The stall offered modern delicacies with a twist- and that was by replacing key ingredients with squid. Very innovative of them, Rei had to admit.

"Try not to get lost, you guys!" Nagisa called out as he turned around briefly, addressing his other three friends.

"We know!" Makoto called back from his spot some distance away.

"And try not to fall again, Bya-kun!" Nagisa added.

"No guarantees!" Byakuya hollered back. Before Nagisa could continue, however, he felt a nudge, and turned back towards Rei. The bluenette was the one who had called for his attention, but he seemed to be staring at something in the opposite direction.

"What is it, Rei-chan?" Nagisa inquired. Rei didn't say anything- he just pointed at something in the direction he was looking. Nagisa followed his line of sight, only to start as he saw a redheaded figure he knew all too well.

"Rin-chan?!" Nagisa exclaimed, his eyes widening. Walking beside Rin another boy he recognized as Nitori, but Nagisa was all too focused on the Matsuoka boy. He immediately moved to the side, pulling Rei with him as they ducked into a huddle.

"Bad timing, right?" Rei asked nervously, positioning his paper fan over his mouth as he whispered to his blonde friend.

"Definitely." Nagisa agreed. This could be bad, if Rin was here, that could mean-

"Is something wrong?"

Both Rei and Nagisa let out a loud exclamation at the voice, both of them straightening up immediately in shock and surprise. They spun around quickly, only to see the rest of their teammates staring quizzically back at them.

Oh boy...

"O-oh, we were wondering how many bowls of squid we can eat." Nagisa lied quickly, spouting out the first sentence he could piece together.

"You're going to eat that much?" Makoto commented, his tone disbelieving.

"That sounds gross." Byakuya added as well, looking a bit weirded out. Haruka just remained passive, simply turning to look elsewhere-

"Ohhh!" Nagisa suddenly jumped into his line of sight, blocking his view. That was close- Rin and Nitori had just walked by, and Haruka had almost spotted them. Now, to think up a convincing explanation as to why he had just done that... "Uh, I-I'm going to go buy squid burgers for everyone!"

"How thoughtful of you, Nagisa-kun!" Rei praised immediately, catching on to what Nagisa was trying to do. They had to get rid of these guys somehow- Haruka in particular.

"Hold on!" Nagisa announced, looking around for a moment before he pointed at a spot far, far away. "Why don't you all wait at that rest stop over there?"

"Uh, I don't want one..." Makoto interjected, making both Rei and Nagisa tense up fearfully. If Makoto didn't go along with it, then their efforts would be in vain!

"But we do!" Nagisa insisted, turning to face Makoto fully. He then started winking continuously at Makoto, praying that he got the message as he continued to speak in a forecfully light tone, trying to seem natural. "Isn't that right, Bya-kun?"

"Actually, I-"

"Would love to get one, right, Byakuya-senpai?!" Rei interrupted, a faux cheerful tone in his own voice. Byakuya looked utterly confused, but the reactions from the two underclassmen were utterly disorienting, so she complied unsurely.

"Uhm, okay?"

"Let's go then, Byaku-chan. Haru." Makoto suggested, turning to head towards the rest stop. He seemed to have gotten Nagisa's message- though the other two still seemed oblivious. "We have to go get space for all five of us."

"Okay." Haruka agreed, not bothering to question anything as he moved along.

"Alright, then." Byakuya nodded, though she still seemed a bit skeptical. As soon as they were all out of earshot, Rei and Nagisa both let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. The Hazuki crouched down on the ground, relieved at having only just escaped that situation. That had been close...

"It's possible that Rin-chan and Haru-chan will run into each other." Nagisa mused carefully as he looked back at Rei, who had joined him in crouching by the side of the road.

"Definitely." Rei agreed, his expression solemn. Nagisa frowned as he considered the possibility, feeling downcast at the prospect of such an occurence.

"I invited Haru-chan to the festival to take his mind of swimming..." Nagisa said despondently.

"But it may end up having the opposite effect..." Rei finished. The Matsuoka boy did seem to have a pretty huge impact on Haruka's situation...

"Ah!" Nagisa exclaimed as a horrible thought occurred to him just then. "He might ditch the relay at regionals!"

"That would be the worst case scenario." Rei justified, though he suddenly looked a lot more worried. If Haruka dropped out, there was no way the team could progress.

"I want Haru-chan to swim with us..." Nagisa trailed off, clutching a handful of his light blue yukata as his fists clenched. All he wanted was to be able to swim with his friends again- the thought that Rin, the one who had started the team the first tine, might be capable of tearing their new one apart...

"I also want to swim with Haruka-senpai..." Rei nodded, a despondent look on his face. Being able to swim with all of them as a team had been absolutely wonderful- he had loved it. It wasn't so much the swimming that had gotten to him, but the fact that they had done it as a team. If Haruka wasn't there, there wasn't any point.

"So we have to make sure they don't meet." Nagisa decided, his voice firm.

"I believe so." Rei agreed. But how were they supposed to do that?

"Rei-chan, you must follow Rin-chan." Nagisa said solemnly, placing a hand on the bespectacled boy's shoulder.

"What?" Rei exclaimed.

"You tell me where Rin-chan is, then we lead Haru-chan somewhere else!" Nagisa elaborated. Though he sounded serious, his eyes were sparkling.

"Nagisa-kun, you seem to be enjoying this." Rei commented, sweatdropping. Leave it to Nagisa to turn something like this into something for his amusement. Was he really expecting him to comply with this? Just following after Rin like some sort of cool, suave, dashing super spy from a movie?

...Actually, when he put it that way, it didn't sound half bad.

"Okay!" Nagisa announced, standing up as he enthusiastically pointed into the sky as he saw Rei's expression changing to that of a compliant one. "Go to it, Detective Rei-chan!"

Let the operation commence.

* * *

><p>"You bought a lot of food..." Makoto commented nervously as he stared at the amount of food laid out on the table before him. Fried squid, paella, noodles, burgers... Nagisa had bought it all.<p>

"I didn't think you'd actually take my 'one of everything' comment seriously..." Byakuya sweatdropped. This was an insane amount of food- even if she had quite the appetite, this was pushing it. Nagisa just hummed cheerfully as he chewed on his fried squid, not feeling the slightest bit sorry.

"Where's Rei?" Makoto asked suddenly, finally noticing the bluenette's absence.

"Oh? Uh..." Nagisa hesitated for a moment, trying to think up a proper excuse. "He ran into an acquaintance, and they're walking around the festival together."

"Oh." Makoto responded. He didn't really believe it, but he knew that Nagisa was doing this for a reason, so he didn't say anything.

"A-Anyway, let's eat!" Nagisa announced quickly, trying to divert attention elsewhere.

"I'll go buy drinks." Haruka said calmly, standing up as he made to head towards the festival grounds once more. However, before he could take even a single step...

"Ah! Haru-chan, you stay here!" Nagisa jumped again as he quickly stopped Haruka from going anywhere. He then quickly offered another explanation as the Nanase shot him a perplexed look, probably wondering if he had a few screws loose. "I'll go get them!"

"Then I'll go with you. It might be more than you can carry by yourself." Makoto volunteered, standing up from his seat as he shot Byakuya a vaguely apologetic glance. "I hope you don't mind, Byaku-chan.

"You don't have to apologize." Byakuya waved him along. "Just go help him- it's okay."

"You stay here then, Haru-chan! Bya-kun!" Nagisa said far too happily, running along his way towards the vending machine. Makoto followed after him- though at a far more leisurely pace. As the two boys disappeared from sight, Byakuya and Haruka then turned back towards each other, the former sighing as she sat up straighter and took hold of the paella- might as well start.

"Nagi-kun is acting weird." Byakuya commented idly as she took a bite of her snack.

"I agree." Haruka nodded, also reaching for the fried squid. It was suspicious, but then again, he didn't bother too much about it. The two of them then proceeded to eat in a comfortable silence, not really feeling the need to converse. As Haruka finished up his squid though, he glanced back up at Byakuya.

"You look good." He praised all of a sudden, catching Byakuya off-guard.

"Oh. Uhm...thanks?" Byakuya blinked, confused at the sudden compliment. Haruka just remained as stone-faced as ever- no surprise there.

"Makoto is nervous." He continued simply, reaching out to take hold of the noodles. "Try to calm him down."

"Not sure if you've noticed, Haru-kun, but I'm sort of a wreck, myself." Byakuya replied, sighing as she did so- judging fron that statement, Haruka knew that Makoto had asked her out, then. It made sense- he was Makoto's best friend, after all. Haruka offered her another pair of chopsticks, and they proceeded to take turns picking at the noodles. It was an old routine- one that they fell into easily due to their long-time acquaintance.

"Just be natural." Haruka said after a few bites. "It would be easier for both of you that way."

"I'll do my best." Byakuya shrugged as she put down her chopsticks- the obi really did wonders in minimizing her usually huge appetite. Remembering Kou's advice, she then turned herself sideways as she took out her lip balm, proceeding to reapply the stuff- she could feel that some of it had come off after her eating. As she did so however, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Haruka's chopsticks had stopped abruptly in midair, the food clenched between the two sticks suspended between his mouth and the plastic package in which the noodles sat. Perplexed, Byakuya looked back at Haruka, who was staring at the small tube in her hands with what looked like stunned disbelief in his cerulean eyes.

"...What?" Byakuya asked defensively, raising an eyebrow at Haruka's peculiar expression. That caught his attention again, and his eyes left the chapstick in her hand as he met her gaze again.

"That's lip balm." He stated simply, the stunned expression in his eyes still not disappearing.

"Yeah." Byakuya nodded, still not understanding why Haru looked so taken aback- was it because she'd never really used this sort of stuff before, just like the yukata? "Kou-chan told me to keep using it. Said it was good for dry lips or something."

"You're..." Haruka blinked once, before realization crossed his face. All of a sudden, the disbelief he felt changed to annoyance, and he just returned to his food. "Never mind."

"Huh?" Byakuya exclaimed, still not understanding what was going on. When Haruka didn't respond and just kept eating, Byakuya just huffed and let it go, reaching for another small snack. "Whatever."

As Byakuya's attention focused elsewhere, Haruka inhaled deeply, struggling not to sigh as he exhaled. Even he knew what Kou was hoping would happen tonight by getting Byakuya to use that. But even then, the Shion herself seemed utterly clueless...

What a hopeless excuse for a woman.

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: Ermahgerd. This fic has reached 100 reviews. I just... wow. I never expected to even reach 50, haha! Thanks so much you guys! Never coulda gotten this far without you guys ;D

Major thanks to Savage Kill, AmIValid, Mazgrl98, theshrewdravenclaw, MyFriendsAreMyPower, maggikarps, Heavenly Condemned and the two Guests (not sure if one person or two different people? Haha, either way, I'm glad you liked last chapter!) for your lovely reviews, Yuilhan and mimichiro for adding this fic to your alerts and favourites, PennyVane for favouriting this story, and woaholyfck (gotta admit, I laughed harder at that username than I should have, haha!) for following this fic! You guys rule QwQ


	42. Chapter 42

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

At a vending machine not too far from the rest stop, Nagisa gave a small sigh of relief once it was finally his turn to get the drinks- there had been a queue in front of him, so it was about time. He needed to get back to the rest stop to make sure Haru and Byakuya hadn't moved, after all. As he inserted the coins for the drinks, Makoto just stood casually beside the machine, nonchalantly trying to start a conversation with the blonde.

"So what's going on?" He asked casually, glancing at the Hazuki. Nagisa sighed again as he heard that question, carrying several of the beverages he had purchased.

"Rin-chan's here at the festival." He admitted seriously, meeting Makoto's green-eyed gaze.

"Rin's here?!" Makoto started, surprise evident in his tone and expression. Nagisa nodded, turning away and shutting his eyes solemnly.

"Yeah, so Rei-chan's..." Nagisa paused, worrying Makoto even further. Just as he started to imagine all the worst possible scenarios, Nagisa suddenly turned back to him, winking as he continued enthusiastically. "Following him right now!"

"You put him up to it, didn't you?" Makoto deadpanned. Rei following Rin... he just knew Nagisa had something to do with this.

"Yep!" Nagisa admitted cheerfully, turning back to retrieve more of the canned drinks from the vending machine.

"Does Byaku-chan know?" Makoto asked as he assisted Nagisa in doing in carrying the drinks, glancing curiously at the blonde again. He knew from the previous occurence that Nagisa was trying to prevent Haru from discovering Rin's presence, and he couldn't help but agree that that would be best. They didn't want a repeat of the first day of prefecturals again...

"I don't think she does." Nagisa responded as he stood up again, shifting the cans in his grasp. "But I don't think we should tell her, either."

"Why not?" Makoto inquired. Byakuya wasn't exactly easy to fool, and neither was Haru. If they weren't already on to something, they would soon enough.

"Because!" Nagisa justified, his expression set. "I want Bya-kun to have fun instead of worrying about Rin-chan, too. She's been worrying too much lately."

"That's true." Makoto agreed, remembering what he'd told the Shion girl earlier. "But do you really think we can fool them?"

"We have to try, at least!" Nagisa decided, before he shot Makoto a cheeky grin. "Besides, I worked real hard to put this together, so you better make full use of this opportunity, Mako-chan!"

"W-what do you mean by 'full use'?" Makoto stuttered out, flustered at the boy's choice of words.

"You know what I mean, Mako-chan~" Nagisa sang, grinning mischievously at his friend.

Makoto just spluttered and looked away, his face bright red. Nagisa really knew how to embarrass people sometimes- now he knew how Kou felt whenever Nagisa implied that she used her 'sex appeal'. He knew all too well what Nagisa was implying, and it was extremely embarrassing to have to take that sort of comment from the younger boy...

Wait a second.

"What do you mean 'you worked real hard to put this together'?" Makoto asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the younger boy.

Nagisa's eyes widened as he sweatdropped, realizing his mistake too late.

Busted.

* * *

><p>There are loads of attention-catching things at festivals. A symphony of sounds and colours awaited anyone who attended such festivals, turning what would normally be a plain old patch of land into sonething beautifully abstract. From the colourful lights to the various stalls and even the attire some people wore, it was a sight for the eyes, indeed<p>

So Rei honestly wished the bunch of kids staring at him right now would focus on those instead of him. But unfortunately, they were kids, and everyone knew that kids never did what you wanted them to. All he was doing was hiding behind a stall, looking calm, cool, and really suspicious...

Okay, so maybe their staring was understandable.

"Target's height is estimated to be 177cm. Weight is estimated to be 68kg. He has red hair and pointy teeth." Rei muttered to himself, feeling for all the world like a super spy tracking his target. As he adjusted his glasses, the light reflected over the lenses, further completing his suave image. "Commence pursuit."

The Ryugazaki dashed out from behind the stall he was hiding at, his footsteps silent as he got closer to the duo he was trailing. The children who had been watching him all just stared as he ducked behind yet another stall, silently hoping that when they grew up, they would be at least half as cool as that blue-haired man.

"Captain Mikoshiba bought cotton candy, chocolate bananas and candy apples." Rei could hear Rin's companion- Nitori, if he remembered correctly- commenting as the two walked on. "I wouldn't expect him to like those."

Rin just gave a small 'hm' in acknowledgement, before he paused suddenly. He suddenly felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck, almost as if someone was watching him...

Snapping his head around immediately, Rin's eyes narrowed into a glare as he prepared to confront whoever it easthat was watching him. To his confusion however, there was no one there- just regular passersby... and a dude wearing an Ultraman mask. But that wasn't anything new- there was a mask stand right next to him, after all.

"Is something wrong?" Nitori's voice called Rin's attention back to the underclassman, and he just scratched the back of his head idly as he turned back around.

"No. Nothing's wrong." Rin responded shortly, continuing the walk as if nothing had happened. That feeling that someone was watching him must have been his imagination, then...

As soon as the Matsuoka boy had his back turned, the mask-clad 'passerby' that Rin had originally spotted reached up and removed his mask, revealing the smug face of Rei Ryugazaki.

"Not bad." Rei appraised, a smirk on his lips as he watched the Matsuoka continue on his way. His footsteps had been completely silent- Rin had some pretty good instincts to be able to catch on like that. Very sharp of him, Rei had to admit. He was going to be very careful as he continued to stalk the boy- he would go at it all night if he had to...

"That'll be 500 yen."

Right after he paid for this mask.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I want that game console!" Nagisa declared as he brandished the toy rifle he was holding. He and the others were currently at a game stall, where they had to shoot at various targets lining the shelves using fake bullets. The blonde eagerly leaned over the counter as he reached his rifle out as far as he could, keeping his balance by using his free hand to grasp the counter. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, he still failed to hit the target he was aiming for- mostly because he had terribly unsteady hands.<p>

"Man, I missed!" He whined, pouting at having missed his target.

"That's not how you do it, Nagi-kun." Byakuya corrected, tilting her head as she observed the boy's peculiar technique.

"Then how would you do it?" Nagisa challenged playfully, grinning at the girl. Byakuya just smirked at the challenge, handing over several coins to the stall manager as she was passed her own gun. Placing the butt of the rifle against her inner shoulder, she placed her finger over the trigger as she aligned her line of sight with the barrel of the gun. Once she had her target set, she pulled the trigger... and hit the target.

"That's not fair!" Nagisa exclaimed, stomping his foot in mock-annoyance. Byakuya just grinned back at him, shooting him the 'peace' sign.

"I guess all those hours of playing FPS games paid off." Makoto commented, chuckling lightly at the sight. He couldn't help but recall the first time Byakuya had played a first-person shooter game- she'd just held the fire button and ran around the battlefield before her character died in ten seconds flat. Naturally, she became obsessed with it.

"Told ya it would come in handy someday." Byakuya smirked- so much for 'playing video games is bad for you'. The girl then looked over to where Haru was leaning his elbows on the counter top, shooting down targets like nobody's business. "Of course, I'm not nearly as good as Sniperman over there." Byakuya teased lightly. Among the three childhood buddies, Haruka always was the best at shooting games. The Nanase didn't even blink at the comment.

"You want a go at it, Mako?" Byakuya asked, turning to face the Tachibana boy.

"No, that's alright." Makoto responded, waving it off.

"No?" Byakuya tilted her head curiously, but just returned her attention back to the prize rack and continued. "All right then- which prize do you want?"

"Hm? Well..." Makoto examined the row of prizes thoughtfully, before he pointed at the one that caught his attention. "That orca plushie looks cute."

"Got it." Byakuya nodded, raising the rifle to her shoulder again.

"Shouldn't it be the guy who gets the gift for the girl?" Nagisa asked skeptically, frowning disapprovingly at his olive-haired friend.

"What's wrong with it being the other way around?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah. I don't really want anything, anyway." Byakuya added as she aimed at her target.

"That's not how it's done! You guys suck at dating!" Nagisa exclaimed exasperatedly.

Makoto blanched. Byakuya fumbled her shot and nearly hit the stall manager.

"You owe me one bullet." Byakuya growled at Nagisa, who laughed sheepishly. The Shion girl then proceeded to apologize profusely to the store manager, who looked vaguely spooked after that near-shot. Nagisa's phone chimed softly just then, and the boy started as he recognized his message ringtone.

"Mako-chan, could you hold this?" He asked, handing his rifle to Makoto for a moment.

"Sure thing." Makoto agreed, taking the gun from the boy. Nagisa then moved to the side, pulling out his phone to read the message that had just arrived- as he thought, it was from Rei.

'The target is currently walking past the stalls by the beach and heading to the main road, over.' The text was extremely formal, and Nagisa could practically imagine the bluenette looking as cool and suave as ever while he went through with the mission.

"Roger... that..." Nagisa muttered to himself as he typed out the response, sticking his tongue out slightly out of habit. Right as he was satisfied that Rin was far away from them and would never run into Haru...

"I need to use the restroom." Haruka announced suddenly, having used up his bullets. In the end, he'd gotten the game console Nagisa had wanted, intending to give it to the boy.

"The closest one would be in the convenience store on the main road." Makoto replied. That made Nagisa freeze up immediately- dangit! Just when he thought they could relax a bit...

"Got it." Haruka nodded, turning to head in the direction Makoto had referred to...

"Wait!" Nagisa jumped in front of Haruka yet again, halting his advance. When the boy raised an eyebrow at him, Nagisa hesitated as he gave another weak explanation. "Can you hold it in a little longer?"

"Huh?" Haruka blinked confusedly at the boy. This was the third time today- just what what was Nagisa playing at? At this point, Byakuya had also lowered her gun, and was looking at Nagisa with the same curious expression. Just as Nagisa struggled to come up with a response, Makoto cut in just in time to save the situation.

"Oh, there might be a porta potty over there. It should be closer." Makoto pointed in the opposite direction- away from the main road.

"Fine." Haruka complied, unwilling to question things further. As long as he got to use the restroom, he didn't care what it was.

"Yeah. I'll come with you." Makoto nodded, deciding to follow just in case there was yet another change of plans. He glanced apologetically back at Byakuya for a moment, though the girl responded by shooting him an exasperated look before focusing back on her game.. He got the message- 'stop apologizing and just go'. Makoto gave a small smile at that- she never did demand his full attention, even if he wanted to do so. Sometimes he wondered if her independence was a good thing or a bad thing.

As soon as the two boys were out of sight, Nagisa gave a small sigh of relief. At least now, he could let himself relax a bit...

"Nagi-kun, what are you hiding?"

He just couldn't catch a break, could he?

"E-eh?" Nagisa started, turning to face Byakuya fearfully. The girl had shot down her last target, and was now holding on to the orca plushie she had worked for.

"Rei-kun isn't actually with an acquaintance, is he?" Byakuya continued, sounding absolutely sure of herself. "And Mako is in on it too now, right?"

"What are you talking about? There's nothing going on! Why would there be something going on?" Nagisa waved his hands about, attempting to throw her off. Byakuya just frowned slightly, fidgeting with the plushie in her hands as she continued.

"Rin-kun is here." She stated simply, daring Nagisa to challenge her statement.

"Whatever gave you that idea-"

Nagisa cut himself off when Byakuya suddenly took out her phone, showing him a text message she had gotten earlier. It was from Kou, stating that she had run into 'Mikoshiba-san'- the captain of Samezuka.

"I also texted Nitori-kun to confirm my suspicions." Byakuya concluded, seeing Nagisa's expression change to that of defeat. The gig was up, then.

"...I didn't want you to worry about stuff like that, Bya-kun." Nagisa admitted sheepishly, staring at the floor as he spoke. He'd tried so hard... "We were supposed to have fun tonight."

Byakuya's expression softened as she heard that, and she placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to get him to face her again. "I am having fun, Nagi-kun. And I appreciate that you're trying so hard to do this for me." She said sincerely, smiling at her friend. "But... there's something I have to do."

There was still something she had to make up for- that one time back at the old swim club, when she had encountered Rin. She had kept her mouth shut then, too afraid and too wrapped up in her own concerns to approach her friend. She still held regret over that missed opportunity, and no matter how much she wanted to forget it ever happened... It was time to settle it. She had to know that she had at least tried before she put it behind her.

"Huh?" Nagisa blinked in confusion, not understanding what she was saying. Byakuya met his gaze firmly, her expression set.

"Where is Rin-kun now?"

* * *

><p>On the main road outside of the festival grounds, Rin Matsuoka strolled along the road next the the beach, hands in his pockets. He stared at the road as he walked along, not really wanting nor needing to look up since there weren't many people around here anyway. He and Nitori had strayed pretty far from the festival, and it was gradually growing darker as the festival lights got further and further away.<p>

"There aren't any stalls over here." Nitori commented slowly. He was pretty sure that Rin already knew that, but he couldn't tell if the move had been made on the senior's part on purpose or because his mind was focused elsewhere.

"I know." Rin stated, his voice monotonous.

"Let's go back." Nitori suggested lightly, hoping to bring the senior back to his senses.

"You can go back." Rin replied, still as toneless as before. It wasn't that he was annoyed- in fact, he couldn't bring himself to feel anything at all right now. It was like whatever part of his brain that induced emotions had just frozen over completely, leaving him numb. Even he didn't understand how or why...

As Rin continued to walk without looking back, Nitori seemed to realize just how much the Matsuoka boy wanted to be alone, and slowed his pace to a stop. Rin didn't even seem to notice- if he did, he didn't even care. The younger boy's eyes became sorrowful as he stared at his friend's retreating figure, knowing that Rin needed his space. Even so, he wanted so much to help him somehow...

"Matsuoka-senpai..." Nitori trailed off, not knowing what to say or do. Why was Rin suddenly so upset again? His mood was almost as bad as he was before the race- worse, even. At least back then you could tell he was driven by something, but now he was just... lifeless. As Nitori wondered about all these things, he failed to register the blue-haired figure that dashed past him, as well as the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Nitori-kun." A voice called out, snapping Nitori out of his thoughts. The boy turned around upon being called, though he started when he saw a yukata-clad girl standing before him. Normally, he wouldn't have been able to tell who she was, but when she had called his name, he could have sworn he knew that voice...

"Shion-senpai?" Nitori asked in surprise, his expression startled. When the girl's lips pulled into that familiar smile, it just confirmed Nitori's suspicions.

"Hey." Byakuya greeted lightly, though there seemed to be a solemn expression in her eyes. The girl gestured back to the festival going on behind them as she continued. "You should head back to the rest of your team."

"But senpai..." Nitori trailed off, turning around again. Rin was pretty far away now, his figure growing gradually smaller as he walked further and further down the road.

"I want to talk to him." Byakuya said suddenly, prompting Nitori to turn back towards her. She seemed to have followed his line of sight before she glanced back at him. "Sorry, Nitori-kun. We'll hang out some other time, alright?"

"Are you sure you should talk to him now?" Nitori asked unsurely. Rin definitely didn't seem to be in a good mood for chatter, but upon seeing Byakuya's determined expression, Nitori knew she wasn't going to change her mind.

"...I've stopped running." Byakuya murmured, her eyes sharpening as she made her decision. Enough of waiting- she couldn't just sit aside any more. "It's about time he did, as well."

* * *

><p>"We're back." Makoto announced as he and Haru walked back up to Nagisa, who was still waiting for them in front of the game stall. As they approached however, Makoto noted with a start that Nagisa looked a lot more solemn than he did before, and was also clutching an orca plushie.<p>

"Where's Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked, glancing around. There was no sign of the Shion girl anywhere- had she run off somewhere? Nagisa looked up at his question, shooting Makoto a tight, almost sad smile.

"...Sorry, Mako-chan." Nagisa said sheepishly, his grip on the plushie tightening ever so slightly. "I guess Bya-kun knows us too well."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> As much as I wanted to make Nitori's reaction a bit less serious, given the circumstances of their meeting... yeah. I couldn't :P My apologies if you were expecting more from our lovable kouhai. Also, I realized I sort of made a careless mistake regarding the details of the group's method of getting home from the swim club in chapter 15, so that was adjusted as well. Sorry for not noticing earlier xD

Thanks so much to Savage Kill, Mazgrl98, maggikarps, MyFriendsAreMyPower, theshrewdravenclaw and mafuuuu for reviewing (also, in response to your review, mafuuuu: No, Haruka does not have feelings for Byakuya. Did it come of as such? My apologies o.o and I'm happy to see that you're finding the story interesting! As for lovey dovey time... well, it is a festival xD), AzuraOfGlass for doing the above as well as adding both this fic and my profile to your alerts and favourites, byakugone for following and favouriting this story, angelbeets (I swear, your username is just xD) and ANIME LOVER OTAKU for adding this story to your favourites! You're all amazing uwu


	43. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

Makoto was walking at a very brisk pace as he maneuvered through the crowd, occasionally apologizing whenever he accidentally bumped into someone. Normally, he would try to be a bit more careful in his movements- given his rather broad frame- but this time, he wasn't quite so concerned about that. The only thing on his mind was getting to the main road, and a particular dark-haired girl...

"Makoto-senpai?" A feminine voice called out just then, halting the Tachibana in his steps. Seeking the source of the voice, he spotted the familiar redheaded figure of Kou, who was staring at him in a perplexed manner. Standing next to her was yet another redhead- this one with much brighter hair than hers- who Makoto recognized all too well...

"Gou-chan. Mikoshiba-san." Makoto greeted politely, though his eyes kept flickering in the direction of the main road. He wasn't sure if he'd get there in time to catch her...

"Yo, Tachibana." Mikoshiba greeted in a cheerful manner, a grin on his face. The Samezuka captain seemed to have been hanging out with Kou, who had been munching on some cotton candy before she called out to Makoto. "It's been a while."

"Ah, that's true." Makoto responded idly, feeling a bit edgy. He didn't want to seem rude by rushing off without giving any explanation, so he decided to keep himself still for just a bit longer.

"Where are the others?" Kou inquired, looking around. It was strange for Makoto to be on his own.

"Uh, I had to leave Haru with Nagisa for a while- Byaku-chan wandered off somewhere, so I have to go find her." Makoto explained, seeking an opportunity to return to his search as quickly as possible.

"She wandered off?" Kou exclaimed, frowning slightly. "What kind of person wanders off on a date?"

"Date?" Mikoshiba repeated in surprise, raising a sly brow at Makoto. "You and Shion?"

"N-not exactly." Makoto replied. It wasn't a complete lie- it wasn't like he and Byakuya were actually together...

"Captain, I'm back." A new voice interjected just then, catching their attentions. A familiar underclassman came into view just then- a grey-haired boy Makoto recognized as Nitori. Aiichirou seemed surprised to see the two Iwatobi students as well, and greeted them politely. "Tachibana-san. Matsuoka-chan. It's nice to see you again."

"Nitori. Where's Matsuoka?" Mikoshiba inquired. The last time he'd seen Nitori, he'd been the only one accompanying Rin...

"Ah," Nitori hesitated for a moment, trying to think up a proper excuse. "He just wandered off somewhere."

"'Wandered off', huh?" Seijuuro glanced back at the captain of Iwatobi's swim team- the olive-haired boy seemed more alert after he'd heard that. "That sounds familiar."

"Did you see Byaku-chan anywhere?" Makoto added, his tone urgent.

"Um, yes." Nitori responded, pointing back over his shoulder. "She was just on the main road."

"Right; thanks!" Makoto thanked quickly, before he started running in that direction and called back over his shoulder. "I can't hang around long- please excuse me!"

"...He seems pretty frantic." Mikoshiba commented as the Tachibana disappeared into the crowd in a rush.

"I think so too." Nitori nodded. That had been a rather peculiar encounter...

"I wonder what's going on?" Kou mused, staring after her senior. Makoto wouldn't have seemed so rushed if it wasn't anything big. Could it have something to do with her brother and Byakuya?

"In any case," Mikoshiba shrugged, before turning back to Kou with a charming grin. "Since Shion and Tachibana are on a date, how's about we go on one too, Gou-kun?"

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that..." Kou sighed- though she had to admit, she was a bit flustered at the captain's request. Really, why couldn't anyone just listen to her for once?

* * *

><p>Rin had been walking for quite a while along the gradually darkening road- the lights were growing dimmer as he strolled further from the brightly lit festival grounds- lost in thought as he wandered along. Despite his seemingly senseless strolling, he actually had a goal in mind- he was heading towards a very particular place...<p>

It took a long time for him to realize that the quick pitter-patter sounds he was hearing were actually footsteps coming from behind him, and he paused as he registered this fact. Turning around, he didn't really expect to see anything in particular- he was just curious as to why there would be someone heading in the same direction as he. For a moment, he didn't recognize the female figure standing before him... until his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he spotted those familiar dark eyes.

"Rin-kun." Byakuya greeted lightly, a small smile crossing her featured.

"Byakuya?" Rin blinked for a moment, confused. When his brain finally kicked in again, he looked taken aback as he realized just what she was clad in. "What the... what are you wearing?!"

"A yukata. Duh." Byakuya responded, giving a small chuckle as she smirked lightly at the Matsuoka. "Geez, do I really look that hideous in this thing?"

"That's not-" Rin cut himself off when he remembered- he wasn't supposed to be on friendly terms with her or any of them anymore. His expression hardened as he shoved his hands further into his jeans pockets, narrowing his eyes as he glanced away. "Tch. Just forget it. I suppose you came with the others?"

"You know the answer to that as well as I do, Rin-kun." Byakuya replied, the smile on her face falling as she realized that Rin was putting up his defenses again.

"Should have guessed." Rin muttered bitterly to himself. He then looked back up at her, his expression cold as he met her eye once more. "What do you want?"

"How have you been doing, Rin-kun?" Byakuya asked, hoping to breach the boy's uptight state. She really didn't want to start an argument- she just wanted to try and talk to her old friend without any antagonism between them.

"Why would you care about that?" Rin responded, a harsh tone in his voice. He remembered all too well how she'd cheered her teammates on, and how they did the same for her in return. "You've got your wonderful 'teammates' to worry about, don't you? Why bother about someone like me?"

"You're my friend too, Rin-kun." Byakuya protested, her eyebrows furrowing together slightly in distress. Rin looked vaguely startled as she said that, before he steeled his expression and grit his teeth slightly.

"...I'm not your friend." He responded coolly, not letting even a hint of warmth show in his voice.

"Maybe you don't think so." Byakuya responded, her own expression hardening. "But you'll always be one to me- to all of us."

"Don't bullshit me." Rin retorted, scowling at the Shion girl. What made her think she could possibly know anything about him now to believe that he was still the same as he once was? "I'm not the same kid I was before."

"You're the one who brought us together, Rin-kun." Byakuya justified, trying very hard to maintain her composure. This was really testing her patience. "You'll always be-"

"How can you still say stuff like that?" Rin growled, his voice louder this time as he glared at the girl fiercely. "This is ridiculous. Haven't I made it clear that I want nothing to do with any of you?!"

"What did we ever do to you? Why do you keep doing that?!" Byakuya retorted, her own voice rising to match Rin's fierce tone as her patience stretched thin. "We've barely even been able to _talk_ to you, for crying out loud! And you can't even let us do that without pushing us away!"

Rin was taken back at the Shion girl's sudden snap, and she met his glare with one of her own. Some people were shooting them odd glances at the scene they were probably making, but Rin wasn't concerned with any of that. The girl in front of him now... she looked nothing like the Byakuya that had seemed about to burst into tears when he'd snapped at her just a week ago. She met his gaze without fear or apprehension, and yet... She wasn't the same hot-tempered girl she was before. She managed to restrain her anger to maintain a level head, her temper noticeably tamed.

When had she changed so much?

"All this bitterness and resentment... it's not like you, Rin-kun." Byakuya continued, her voice softer than before. Rin scowled again as she said that.

"You don't know me." He spat out, his glare never faltering.

"Yeah. I don't know you, but I knew Rin Matsuoka- and he's not this." Byakuya replied firmly. "He's not someone that distances himself from everyone just because he so blindly believes he can live this way on his own. He would never hurt his friends the way you did."

That caught Rin off-guard again, and his eyes widened slightly as he met her hard gaze. As those words reverberated in his head, Rin's gaze fell to the ground, his hands balling into fists at his side.

How dare she? What did she know about his experiences? She didn't know what he'd been through, what he'd suffered- she had no right to tell him who he was! Only he knew who he was!

...And who was he?

_'I'll never forget you guys. Ever. You'll always be my best buddies.'_

"I don't know what's going on with you, Rin-kun," Byakuya persisted, her voice a lot more gentle than before. "But we're here for you. So please-"

"Leave me alone." Rin muttered lowly, staring at the ground.

"Rin-"

"I said leave!" Rin shouted, his gaze never leaving the floor. Byakuya flinched at his harsh tone, knowing that he was done with this conversation. Reluctantly, Byakuya held back the torrent of questions she wanted to ask, not wanting to push Rin over the brink.

"...If that's what you want." She complied quietly, taking a few small, heavy steps back. However, her expression still remained firm, and her voice was equally so. "But... if you honestly think this is the way you'll ever find your happiness- by choosing to walk this path alone... think again." Once she said that, Byakuya turned on her heel and walked off, not looking back.

As Byakuya headed back towards the festival, Rin just stared at her retreating back, his expression slack in disbelief. Those words she'd said-about him finding his happiness...

Rin's mind was reeling. He'd always believed hew would find happiness in achieving his dream- to accomplish what his father hadn't been able to and become an Olympic swimmer. But if that was the case... why did he feel so confused now? Why did watching his old team swimming without him wound him the way it did? What did he really want?

Just who was Rin Matsuoka?

* * *

><p>Behind a lamppost, near where the two old friends had been conversing, Rei wore a dreadfully solemn expression on his face. He hadn't meant to pick up on the conversation between Rin and Byakuya, but given the situation he was in, it couldn't have been helped. The entire conversation the two had held just made Rei even more puzzled and frustrated- even surprised, to an extent. He'd never heard such desperation in Byakuya's voice before, and the Matsuoka boy's vehement reaction to Byakuya's questioning reminded Rei an awful lot of his outburst at the stadium during prefecturals. Byakuya hadn't even noticed him as she'd passed by him on her way back to the festival- an observation that normally shouldn't have evaded the senior. The conversation must clearly have affected her...<p>

_'The one who brought us together'._

Matsuoka was the one who brought them together? How? To Rei, it always looked like either Haruka or Makoto was the unofficial alpha of the group- he always figured that one of them had been the one to unite the team for that relay they'd raced in grade school. If Rin was the original person who had brought the team together... how did he end up being so distant?

_'You're my friend'._

Friend. After all Rin had said and done- the way he'd hurt them- Byakuya still considered him a friend. There was no way she could just forgive him so easily if they were simply acquaintances- hell, even between friends, such a thing would have been difficult. He must have been like family to her as well for her to so readily announce that she still treasured him. Did Rin not feel the same way?

Rei wanted answers. And he wanted them soon.

* * *

><p>As Byakuya neared the festival grounds once more, she slowed to a stop as she came into sight of the numerous stalls, suddenly feeling drained. The crowds definitely didn't look too appealing now- it was like the atmosphere suddenly became really stuffy. As much as she wanted to return to her friends before they started worrying too much... she just couldn't bring herself to pull together that usual cheerful act. That mask had dropped quite a while ago, and she couldn't put it back on even if she wanted to.<p>

The Shion girl bit her lip as as she stared out at the ocean, a wistful expression on her face. Various lights in all sorts of colours from the festival and the decorated boats docked at the pier reflected off the surface of the water, the glow making it look like there were small fires burning beneath the sea. It was nothing like what she and the others had seen that time on Sukishima, but it was still otherworldly beautiful. It was just a pity she couldn't really appreciate the sight right now- just remembering how Rin had yelled at her made her mood plummet further. She was trying so hard to reach him, but it was like every time she- or any of them, really- tried to get close, he just snapped and shoved her away. It was like all of their efforts were in vain.

Byakuya crossed her arms as a stronger breeze blew by, making her shiver slightly- the yukata was a bit breezy- and she gave a low sigh. Even though things seemed to be lightening up for everyone, the situation with Rin still seemed to be going nowhere. Even if she'd finally gotten that load off her chest- finally being able to at least try to talk to Rin on his own- she was getting so tired of being stuck in limbo like this. Why couldn't everything just settle down already...

Suddenly, a dark grey jacket was draped across her shoulders, and Byakuya started upon the contact. Turning around, she saw the tall form of Makoto standing behind her, a worried expression on his face.

"Makoto?" Byakuya exclaimed, surprised. But how did he...

"Ran into your friend- Nitori." Makoto explained, knowing what she was going to ask by observing the perplexed look on her face. Byakuya couldn't be entirely sure, but Makoto's breathing seemed to be a little heavier than usual, and he seemed to be perspiring a bit ... had he run here?

"Ah. Right." Byakuya nodded. Unconsciously, she clutched the jacket he had placed over her shoulders, stopping it from falling off.

"You said you'd try to have fun, but you're still thinking too much." Makoto accused lightly, poking the worry lines on her forehead for emphasis.

"I'm not thinking too much." Byakuya defended, brushing his hand away and averting her gaze. Normally, she'd try to make it sound more convincing, but right now... she just wasn't in the mood. It wasn't like any act could fool Makoto, anyway.

"...What did he say to you?" Makoto asked quietly, concern lacing his voice as he grasped the hand she had used to brush him away, prompting her to look back at him. He couldn't help but feel somewhat defensive- the last time Rin had said something to Byakuya, it had hurt her; he knew it had. And from the way she was acting now...

It took a lot to test Makoto's temper, but he did not tolerate anyone who hurt his friends- especially when it concerned Byakuya.

"Nothing much, really. I just... feel a bit upset, that's all." Byakuya admitted despondently, before she apologized. "Sorry, I don't mean to be so depressing..."

"Is that so?" Makoto inquired, tilting his head. And then he released her hand, reaching out to pinch her cheeks and pull them upwards as he smiled at her. "Then put away that frown- it's making me sad, too."

"H-hey, cut that out!" Byakuya sputtered, trying to pull his hands away from her face.

"Not until you smile~" Makoto sang teasingly, amusement evident in his expression.

"Alright, alright!" Byakuya exclaimed, laughing despite herself. "Now would you stop that?"

"Much better." Makoto nodded in satisfaction as he finally released her cheeks. "A smile suits you much more nicely- especially when you look so stunning tonight."

"You're embarrassing." Byakuya scoffed, rubbing her sore cheeks. Makoto could have sworn her face was reddening slightly... but that could just have been because her cheeks hurt.

"I know." Makoto responded playfully. He knew what he was doing- it was the exact same thing she had done to him once, back when she had tried to comfort him when they were younger.

"...How do you know how to cheer me up every time?" Byakuya asked, smiling softly at her olive-haired companion. Evidently, the nostalgia of his actions hadn't slipped her notice, either.

"Magic." Makoto joked lightly. His expression soon solemned, however, and he shot her a small, apologetic look. "I'm sorry. You're not really having much of a good time, are you? What with Rin, and trying to keep Haru from seeing him... I asked you out, but I've sort of been ignoring you."

"I-it's not that big a deal. And it's not your fault, either." Byakuya stuttered out, waving her hands nervously. Pausing for a brief moment, she blushed before she cleared her throat and glanced away as she continued. "Besides... I'm happy just to spend time with you."

"Byaku-chan..." Makoto trailed off, staring at Byakuya's flushed face in surprise. He hadn't expected her to admit something like that- she was normally so reserved with such emotions.

"I mean it." Byakuya insisted, though she kept avoiding his gaze. Makoto's eyes just softened as he looked at her, his expression turning into one of happiness.

"I'm glad." Makoto replied tilting his head into her line of sight playfully. "But let's try to enjoy the rest of the festival now, alright?"

"Alright." Byakuya chuckled at Makoto's childish antics, clearly in a better mood than she was before. She moved to remove his jacket from her shoulders- the wind had died down, and there was no need for her to use it anymore- but he beat her to it and retrieved the apparel first, successfully making Byakuya flush further at his gentlemanly move.

"You actually kept the plushie inside that thing?" She asked nonchalantly, gesturing to the jacket Makoto was tying back over his shoulder. During the time she had the jacket, she had felt something inside one of its pockets- judging from the shape, she had guessed it was that orca plushie she had won for him earlier.

"Of course I did. You got it for me." Makoto responded sincerely. Byakuya seemed to be flustered at the statement, and Makoto simply continued smiling at her as he offered her his hand. Much to his delight, she accepted it willingly.

"Have I mentioned that you look cute when you blush?" Makoto teased as he led her back towards the festival grounds, taking pleasure in seeing her blush darken at his comment.

"Have I mentioned that I will stomp on your foot if you say something like that again?" Byakuya retorted, though she ducked her head in embarrassment.

Makoto just laughed again as he squeezed her hand, leading her back to the crowded festival area. To any passersby, the two of them would probably have looked like a regular teenage couple, just enjoying the festival. Even though such an idea might have caused them to jerk apart from each other in the past... now, they probably wouldn't have minded such assumptions.

* * *

><p>"Bya-kun! You're back!" Nagisa cried out as he saw his two friends approaching. He and Haru had been waiting near a mask stand when Makoto had decided to go look for Byakuya, insisting that they stay there. After several minutes of waiting, Nagisa was extremely relieved to see his friends returning before Haruka could catch on to anything fishy- the Nanase was no fool. "You sure took your time!"<p>

"Sorry about that." Byakuya apologized sincerely, slightly ashamed for having worried her teammates. Her eyes flickered briefly towards Haruka before she met Nagisa's eye again, a subtle change in her expression. "Ran into an acquaintance."

"Mm..." The hint wasn't lost on Nagisa as he stared worriedly at Byakuya, scrutinizing her face closely. He knew just where she'd went- he'd told her, after all- and was worried that Rin had said something antagonistic towards her again. He just pouted at the dark-haired girl, pointing authoritatively at her. "Well, you'd better focus on having a good time now, alright? We have lots more games to go through!"

"Alright! Let's do this, then!" Byakuya agreed enthusiastically, grinning confidently at the blonde. Makoto just smiled as he shifted his gaze over to Haru, who looked as calm as ever. He knew there was something Haruka had been wanting to go for ever since they arrived...

"I say we go for yo-yo tsuri now." He suggested nonchalantly, trying to seem causal. His real intention didn't escape Haru, who just glanced away once more- evidently miffed or possibly embarrassed at having his mind read so easily again.

"Sounds good to me!" Byakuya nodded eagerly.

"C'mon, it's over that way!" Nagisa added, pointing in the direction of said game stall. The group all made their way towards the destination, but as they were halfway there, Nagisa quietly tapped Makoto's shoulder, gaining the taller boy's attention. He then gestured for Makoto to lean his head down slightly- so that he would be able to whisper to him without the other two noticing.

"Bya-kun seems a lot happier now. What happened?" Nagisa asked, his expression curious. Makoto's expression became thoughtful for a moment, before he gave a secretive smile.

"Who knows?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "As long as she's happy."

"Eh? You don't know anything?" Nagisa exclaimed loudly, looking almost scandalized. "That's not safe, Mako-chan!"

"What's not safe?" Haruka asked suddenly, turning towards the two boys upon Nagisa's loud exclamation.

"Ehh?!" Makoto and the blonde froze up immediately, their minds reeling as they tried to think up an excuse. "Um, well, we were just talking about-"

"Mako stopped me before I could join Squid Catching Heaven." Byakuya interrupted suddenly, giving a deep sigh. "I was so close, too..."

Haruka just raised an eyebrow- looking almost stumped at the girl's statement. That seemed to be enough to make him lay off the questioning, because he just returned his gaze to the front and continued to walk on, not uttering a single word. Perhaps he was just too confused by the excuse to question it... or he actually bought it. No one could really tell at this point. However, as soon as he turned away again, the other three gave a low sigh of relief.

"Thanks for the save, Bya-kun." Nagisa thanked gratefully, reaching behind his back to ask for a secret high-five.

"Don't mention it." Byakuya responded, slapping her hand onto his. Just like old times.

"Make sure to keep throwing him off." Nagisa added, keeping his voice low as he whispered to the girl walking beside him.

"Gotcha." Byakuya nodded in affirmation.

"And don't panic."

"Yep."

"And make sure you kiss Mako-chan after this for the date."

"Righ- wait what?!" Byakuya exclaimed, staring apprehensively at the blonde for his suggestive statement.

Nagisa just grinned. It wouldn't have been fair if he just teased Makoto, after all.

* * *

><p>Byakuya pursed her lips slightly as she moved the twisted paper string around the tub of water, being careful not to let the string soak in the water too long. With a small twist of her fingers, the hook of the paper string caught the finger loop of the water balloon yo-yo, and she carefully lifted the now-caught balloon out of the water victoriously. Turning to face Haruka- who was kneeling beside her- she noted with admiration that he had hooked quite a few balloons already.<p>

"You're actually pretty delicate with your hands, aren't you?" Makoto suddenly commented, prompting Byakuya to turn back to him. Apparently, Nagisa managed to retrieve a yo-yo of his own as well, but Makoto's string had snapped off before he could get any of his own.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Byakuya inquired tauntingly, knowing that the question would throw him off. As expected, Makoto started laughing nervously, not quite sure how to respond to the question.

"It works better if you don't try as hard." Nagisa advised, referring to the game they were playing. "Just like in real life!"

"But sometimes it doesn't work unless you try hard." Makoto countered. It was a fact- without effort, sometimes your ventures would be for naught.

As the two teens conversed about the philosophy behind that statement, Haruka's attention was drawn away when he heard an awed exclamation coming from his left, and he turned to see two young boys staring in amazement at the bunch of water balloons he held in his hand.

"Awesome!" The brunette boy exclaimed, clearly impressed by the Nanase's skill. At this point, Byakuya had noticed the two kids as well, and couldn't help but smile adoringly at them- she was a sucker for children.

"So many!" The brunette's companion- a boy with straight, black hair- added as well, sounding almost envious of Haruka's skill.

"Lucky!"

Haruka glanced at the numerous water balloons in his hand, pondering his options for a moment. Coming to the conclusion that he could simply fish around for more- that, and the kids would appreciate them more than he did- he passed the yo-yos to the two boys. "You can have them if you want."

"Really?!" The two children stared at Haruka in disbelief, before they both grinned at each other excitedly. "Yay!"

"We can show them off to Ta-chan and everyone else!" The brunette enthused, thanking Haruka briefly as he took the balloons.

"Uh-huh!" His friend nodded eagerly, clearly ecstatic at the unexpected present.

"Is 'Ta-chan' a girl you two wanna impress?" Byakuya asked teasingly, smiling at the kids.

"Ehhh?!" They exclaimed, looking completely apprehensive at the notion.

"Ew! No way!" The boy with the straight hair denied vehemently, sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"She hits hard!" His companion added, shuddering at the memory. "And Hei-kun would kill us!"

"Sounds familiar." Byakuya chuckled, nudging Haruka playfully. The boy just met her eye for a moment before looking away again- seeing the two kids before him reminded him an awful lot of the relationship he and his friends had when they were kids, as well. His expression began to grow wistful as he watched the two boys, and Byakuya frowned slightly. She then turned back to the kids, before speaking to them in a lighter voice. "You wanna know a trick to this game?"

"What? What?" The boys asked eagerly, leaning forth to hear what she had to say. Byakuya smiled affectionately at their eager states, before she patted Haruka's shoulder.

"Haru-kun can teach you. He's great at this." She said cheerily, pushing Haruka and the kids together to take his mind off whatever it was he was thinking about. The Nanase started upon the contact, but before he could refuse, the two kids were practically jumping on him in excitement.

"Really?"

"Please teach us, onii-san!" They cheered happily, eager to learn a new trick to the game. Despite his seemingly passive personality, Haruka was actually quite fond of kids, himself. Hence, he didn't even bother to question anything before he put his twisted paper string into the water and began to teach them. "You have to put the string here..."

The Shion girl just watched on happily as Haruka aided the children, pleased to see that she'd managed to take his mind off whatever it was he was thinking about for a moment. In her opinion, nothing was more heartwarming than seeing someone playing with kids. Makoto was watching the Nanase as well, somewhat concerned for his friend's state of mind. But even so, it was nice to see that he seemed to have forgotten about it for now...

"Mako-chan, Bya-kun." Nagisa suddenly whispered, calling for his friends' attentions. The blonde was clutching his cellphone, his pink eyes running over the message on the screen as he read it aloud for them. "Rin-chan's in the park in the third district."

"The park in the third district?" Makoto repeated, his surprise evident in his voice as he remembered something very important about that particular area. "That leads to..."

Makoto trailed off, not quite believing what he was hearing. He caught Byakuya's eye as he looked up, seeing the same stunned expression he was sure he was wearing on her face as well. He didn't doubt for a moment that the both of them weren't wondering the same thing...

'What did this mean?'

* * *

><p>"An elementary school?" Rei muttered to himself, confused. He had been tailing Rin for quite a while now- the Matsuoka having travelled far, far away from the initial festival grounds. As Rei peered around the corner of the fence he hid behind, he couldn't help but feel very perplexed as he saw where Rin was heading- Iwatobi Elementary School.<p>

The crimson-haired boy continued to walk along at his own steady pace, his eyes glued to the ground as he did so. However, a large shadow cast upon the ground in his path caught his attention, and he turned his head towards the elementary school. Standing before him- just behind the fence that separated the outside from the school grounds- was a huge tree that was flourishing with bright green leaves. To anyone else, it would have looked like any other tree, but Rin knew all too well just what tree it was-even despite the fact that the last time he'd seen it, it was completely bare. It was a sakura tree.

The same tree that he and the rest of his classmates had planted all those years ago. The same one he had stood under when he announced his plans to his three friends. It was just a tree, and yet... it brought back so many memories that were precious to him.

As Rin stared at the large sakura tree and the pool behind it, he couldn't help but remember how he'd once said that he would have liked to swim in that pool when it was filled with cherry blossoms. A foolish wish of course- even back then he knew that such an occasion could only happen in autumn, and such an action could only have gotten him sick. But still, he had longed to be able to swim under such conditions. Swimming...

The relay.

In his mind's eye, Rin could remember every detail of that race- it was nothing like any other race he'd swam before. The water was glistening beneath the light shining in from the windows of the indoor stadium, being splashed about by the various swimmers that tore through it. The audience was loud as they cheered for the teams they supported, their loud cheers resonating throughout the stadium. But amidst all those people, Rin's eyes had been focused on only one- or rather, four others.

"Makoto!" Haruka cried out, encouraging his friend as the Tachibana swam through the water with all his strength.

"Mako-chan!" Nagisa added loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth as he cheered his friend on.

"Go, Mako!" Depite how far away she was, Rin could make out the sound of Byakuya's voice loud and clear as she yelled as loudly as she could. Rin himself had been tense with excitement, awaiting the outcome of Makoto's lap eagerly.

"Makoto!"

His own voice as he had supported his teammate without fail resonated through Rin's head, and his expression began to fall. He remembered how eager he had been to await his friend's success, and how nothing else had mattered in that moment.

Had he ever felt like that again? After that day, had he ever felt that rush?

When Makoto finished his lap, Nagisa hadn't wasted a second as he leapt into the pool. It wasn't the neatest entry, but all the practicing he had done beforehand had the blonde swimming quickly to catch up with the others in no time. Rin had been the first to start cheering without hesitation, sending his friend off with all his support.

"Go, Nagisa!"

Despite the fact that there was no one in the pool before him now Rin could practically see the beautiful sight before him. It was almost as if all of it was right here- just beyond this fence before him. His hand reached up manually, grasping the fence as he continued to play the memory in his mind.

The moment Nagisa made the turn, Rin grinned. He pulled his goggles over his head, waiting eagerly for his teammate to return so that he could go next. He wanted to make his team proud- he was going to push himself to the limit and never slack off even once... because his team was counting on him.

And he never wanted to let them down.

Rin's grip on the fence tightened as he recalled the rush of emotions he'd felt as he dove into the water, beginning his butterfly stroke without hesitation. From the moment he had dove into the water, all his worries disappeared. All he could see was the goal in front of him, and the friends that were waiting for him.

"Rin!" Makoto yelled loudly as Rin made the turn. He was almost there- he could see them clearly every time he came up for air.

"Rin-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, jumping as he urged Rin to push harder. "Faster, faster!"

"You're doing amazing!" Byakuya's voice rang out, her excitement and pride showing clearly in her cheers.

Then there was Haruka.

He didn't say anything- didn't need to. Rin just caught his eye right before he touched the wall, and that was enough to say it all.

'Go get 'em'

The moment Haru dove over his head, Rin watched as his graceful form flew over head. He was stunned- it was beautiful. For a moment, it was as though Haru was flying through the air.

He could feel the wire of the fence biting into his skin as he clutched the fence tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Haru!"

"Haru-chan!"

"Haru-kun!"

Rin's head fell against the fence. His head suddenly felt heavy- he couldn't take it. His teeth clenched together tightly, as if it could alleviate the pressure building up in his head. He was suddenly tired- so, so tired.

And then that relay just a week ago... the one they swam without him.

All of them had cheered enthusiastically for each other- even that new guy with the blue hair. They were all so happy- all so caught up in the moment. They were all so happy as they swam, doing everything they could for the team.

Makoto. Nagisa. Byakuya. Haruka. All of them were the same as they were before.

And they'd swam right past him without looking back. Because Rin had been the one who chose to walk his path alone.

Why had he ever given it up?

There was suddenly a sharp, razing pain running through Rin's chest, and he literally grimaced as he clutched the fabric of his shirt around the area. It was painful- almost as if a knife had gone right through his heart. It was painful enough to make his eyes begin to sting, and he knew all too well what the feeling was- it was the feeling one got when they were about to cry.

...No. He wouldn't allow it.

So he did the only thing he could do- he ran. He pushed himself off the fence he had been leaning so heavily against, gasping painfully as he did so. He stumbled slightly as he lost his balance for a moment, but wasted no time as he regained his footing and began to run away as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was going, or what he planned to do, but he would think about that later. Right now, all he needed to do was get out of here- far away from this place and all the memories and feelings it held.

It didn't matter how long or how far he had to run. He would keep just keep going at it until he found his answer.

* * *

><p>BA-THUMP.<p>

Byakuya gave a small gasp as she felt her chest clench all of a sudden, and she instinctively reached up to grasp the area where her heart should have been. She froze in her steps for a moment, her eyes wide as she wondered just what on earth that was about all of a sudden. It wasn't a comforting, warm feeling like what she felt whenever she thought of her friends and her love for them. This feeling was colder- painful, even. It was hurtful, heavy... sad.

"Byaku-chan? Are you okay?" Makoto asked worriedly, immediately noticing her sudden pause. Automatically, he placed his hand on her shoulder, watching her reactions carefully. The other two had stopped as well, also watching the Shion girl in mild concern.

"I-I'm fine." Byakuya reassured, though she gratefully gripped Makoto's hand- the Tachibana's worry only increased further when he noted how cold it felt. "It's just..."

"What is it?" Makoto asked gently when Byakuya trailed off, her expression uneasy. The pain in her chest was slowly going away, but she still didn't get it- what had that been all about? It was beginning to feel like it hadn't even been there in the first place...

"...I don't know." Byakuya confessed.

That was the truth. And the moment she admitted it, the pain went away completely.

'What on earth just happened?'

* * *

><p>AN: Oops too much fluff, time for angst *shot* (MaxineCrazy, you know what I'm talking about xD). You all probably know by now that some part of me still wishes I had gone with Rin instead of Makoto, hence explaining the amount of Rin and Byakuya moments in this chapter. I am sorry *withers away*. On a side note, the 'nostalgic' bit of Makoto's actions and his reasons for being defensive of Byakuya will be expanded more upon in the flashback chapter as well. Yeehaw.<p>

On yet another side note, I cannot and will not contain my excitement for season 2. Asdfghjkl

Thank you very much to AzuraOfGlass, Mazgrl98, Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, Heavenly Condemned, MyFriendsAreMyPower and maggikarps for reviewing, as well as crazycit and Kirino Tsuki for favouriting this story! Hope ya'll enjoyed it!


	44. Chapter 44

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"I haven't had candy apples in a while." Makoto mused as he, Haru and Byakuya stood in line at the candy apple stand. "I wonder if the taste has changed."

"You can't go wrong with candy apples." Byakuya commented, reaching into her yukata to fish out her wallet. However, Makoto- probably sensing her intent- stopped her hand and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Don't even think about it." He challenged lightly, reaching into his pocket and drawing out the cash necessary to pay for the snacks before Byakuya could respond. The guy running the stall- clearly, he had seen this who's-gonna-pay routine far too many times- quickly accepted the cash, not waiting for the bickering to continue.

"There's no point fighting him." Haruka muttered under his breath, making sure that only Byakuya could hear him. The girl just frowned and tilted her head- her independence was something she prided herself on, but she decided to let it slide; there was no harm in putting her pride aside.

"Don't give me that look." Makoto continued sheepishly, handing Byakuya a candy apple- she didn't know it, but that look did wonders in making him cave in and feel guilty. Much to his relief, Byakuya relented and accepted his peace offering.

"Fine." She agreed, accepting of the snack he was giving to her and taking a bite out of it. She chewed thoughtfully for a bit- dang, she's missed these things- before responding. "Yep. Same as always."

"Are you feeling better, at least?" Makoto inquired as he got a second candy apple- Haruka didn't really want one, he could tell since the boy had already eaten so much earlier.

"I guess." Byakuya responded, pondering what had happened earlier. There was not even a trace of that so-called 'pain' left. "I still don't know what that was about."

"No point worrying over it." Haruka said simply. Byakuya just shrugged- he did have a point.

"Fair enough." She nodded, continuing work on her snack. As she did so, her eyes flickered over to Nagisa, who was crouched on the ground behind them some distance away. The boy was holding his phone in his hands, probably reading another message from Rei. However, Byakuya chose the wrong time to do that, because Haruka- catching sight of her diverted attention- followed her gaze as well. Acting upon impulse, the Nanase turned and headed towards the blonde, his curiosity about the boy's peculiar actions finally getting the better of him.

"Ah! Wai-" Byakuya tried to reach out to the boy upon seeing where he was headed, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her once more. Makoto gently coaxed her to lower her hand, a knowing smile on his face.

"We can't keep it from him forever." He explained, though he seemed somewhat sheepish. They had tried really hard to keep it secret from Haru, but there just wasn't any stopping him now.

"...If you think that's best." Byakuya relented. Makoto was Haruka's closest companion- there was no one else who had better judgement when it came to the Nanase except him. As the two of them walked up to Haruka as well, they arrived just in time to catch Nagisa's last sentence as he muttered to himself.

"Then Rin-chan could still be-"

"What are you doing?" Haruka interrupted just then, the name Nagisa had uttered catching his attention immediately. The Hazuki froze up when he heard that voice, slowly turning around to behold his friends standing behind him. Upon catching Haruka's alert gaze, he laughed sheepishly.

"...Did you hear that, Haru-chan?" He asked cautiously. Judging from the solemn look Haruka was giving him- as well as the subdued ones of Byakuya and Makoto- he supposed he had.

"Rin is here?" Haruka asked again, his expression unwavering. Nagisa just hung his head- the game was up, then.

"Uh-huh." The Hazuki admitted sheepishly, carefully watching Haruka's expression. He was afraid that after learning of these news, Haruka might put up all his defenses again as he got lost in his own concerns. After all he'd tried to do to make sure that his friend had a good time, he was beginning to worry that it had all been for naught.

"Oh." Haruka responded, his expression growing distant for a moment as he connected all the dots. After a few beats of silence- during which all of the Nanase's friends waited with bated breath- the expression vanished, and he looked back up again as he continued. "It's okay. Tell Rei to come back."

For a moment, the other three were caught off-guard, not quite believing what they were hearing. They had thought for sure that hearing of this news would have Haru reacting in one way or another- but they definitely hadn't expected such a nonchalant response. However, their surprise soon changed to that of relief, and the three friends exchanged looks of happiness with each other.

"Uh-huh! I'll go get Rei-chan, then!" Nagisa nodded enthusiastically, nearly bouncing on his feet in joy- he was just so glad to see that Haruka was still okay even after what they'd told him. The blonde then quickly spun around on his feet, barely containing himself as he jogged off.

"Is that where you headed to earlier?" Haruka inquired after Nagisa had run off, turning to face Byakuya. The girl nodded sheepishly as well, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Yeah." She chuckled apologetically. "Sorry for not telling you."

Haruka seemed to take this into consideration, nodding absently as he accepted the girl's awkward apology. Byakuya thought for sure he was going to prod further, but instead he surprised her- again- by asking something else entirely.

"Where do you want to go next?" The raven-haired teen asked, his expression unchanging.

"Huh?" Byakuya exclaimed, blinking in surprise. What was this all of a sudden?

"You haven't gotten to go anywhere you want to." Haruka explained, his blue eyes earnest.

"Haru has a point." Makoto added, interrupting Byakuya right as she was about to protest. "Haru got his yo-yo tsuri, Nagisa got his shooting game, I got my candy apples... what do you want to do?"

Byakuya still seemed a bit surprised that she had been asked such a question, and honestly considered waving it off and letting them decide instead. However, upon seeing the firm expression in her two childhood friends' eyes that told her they were going to have her choose no matter what, she opted to ponder the question. She twirled the candy apple in her hand absently, considering the options. Food was definitely out of the option- she was way too full. They'd played most of the usual games, so she was pretty satisfied with that already. What else did that leave...

Ah.

"...That place." Byakuya decided, looking back up at her friends with a light grin on her face. This time, it was Haruka and Makoto's turn to look vaguely surprised.

"You sure?" Makoto asked, a hint of concern in his voice. They hadn't been to that place in years- mostly because it had been Byakuya herself who had been reluctant to go there. Even Haruka looked a bit skeptical.

"Absolutely." Byakuya nodded firmly, her grin turning into a smirk. "It's a special year, right? What better place to go to than our special place?"

"...All right." Makoto nodded, his usual kind smile gracing his features again. He really was glad that Byakuya had chosen that place, and from the slight change in expression on Haruka's face, he could tell his best friend was just as glad. "Shall we go, then?"

"Yeah." Byakuya agreed eagerly. As the three of them headed towards their destination, the girl hooked one of her arms through Mako's, and the other through Haru's. When neither of them made to complain, she just smiled happily to herself as she continued to walk beside the both of them.

It was good to see that some things didn't change.

* * *

><p><em>"Woahhh!" The eight year-old Byakuya exclaimed in fascination, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the lights of the festival, her short height forcing her to stand on her tiptoes just to look over the railing that surrounded the edges of the cliff. Her mom had taken her, her brother and her two best friends up an old, somewhat rundown path that led up a hill some distance away from the festival grounds. The path lead to a bare, manmade and flat patch of ground- possibly an old shrine that had been taken down or relocated, judging from the numerous torii they had seen on the way up here. But the most attention-catching thing up here was the view- the sight from up here was absolutely stunning. "It's amazing!"<em>

_"Even the ocean looks pretty- right, Makoto-kun?" Mikasa Shion asked smilingly, placing a comforting hand on the young, olive-haired boy's shoulder. He had been staring at the ocean just to the left of the festival grounds- something that hadn't escaped the older woman's notice._

_"...Yeah. It does." The young Makoto nodded hesitantly. His coach was one of the few people who had known about his fear of the water before even Byakuya or Haruka, and even though his fear still lingered in his mind, he had to admit- this was beautiful._

_"Look at all those lights! I didn't know they all looked like that from above!" Byakuya enthused happily, tugging on her two friends' arms in excitement. Haruka just nodded silently, but even he looked awed at the sight before him._

_"Man, I can't wait to get these developed!" The twelve year-old Aoi grinned, looking through the pictures he had taken using his camera. The boy had always been quite the photography enthusiast. "I can't believe no one else has found this spot." He commented idly._

_"It's my secret place." Mikasa confessed. She then walked up to her youngest daughter, carrying her up so that she could get a better view of the whole scene. "I showed it to your daddy first, and he also brought me here when he asked me to marry him."_

_"Really?" Byakuya murmured, her voice mystified as she gazed around."So this place is special..."_

_"Yeah." Mikasa agreed happily, planting a light kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Now it's a special place for all of you, as well- you too, Haruka-kun. Makoto-kun."_

_"Thanks, mommy." Byakuya and Aoi thanked in synchronization, the both of them giving their mother a huge hug._

_"Thank you, Mikasa-obasan." "Mm." Both Haruka and Makoto nodded, smiling sincerely at the woman- even Haruka's lips were upturned slightly._

_"You're welcome." Mikasa responded graciously. Along with the love she had for her two children, she greatly treasured her two students as well- despite their young age, Mikasa just knew for sure that those two would be extremely dear companions to her daughter. She could trust those kids._

_"Hey, everyone!" Aoi suddenly announced, his voice eager as he grinned widely all of a sudden._

_"Huh?"_

_"Say cheese!" Aoi ordered, raising his camera to his eyes as he pointed the lens at them._

_"Ah!" Byakuya waved her arms, eager to get her friends' attentions. "Get in the picture, quick!"_

_"Ready? One... two..." Aoi counted down, his finger hovering over on the 'capture' button as the three kids and his mom all got together, preparing for the photo. Mikasa laughed warmly as she carried Byakuya, who was grinning as she hugged her mother. Makoto and Haruka stood next to the Shion woman, the former wearing a cheerful smile while his companion just looked away from the camera._

_'_Typical_.' Aoi smiled to himself, his finger pressing down on the button. This was one picture he would make sure to keep._

_FLASH!_

* * *

><p>"Hard to believe it's been nearly ten years since we first climbed up these steps, huh?" Makoto commented wistfully as he walked beneath yet another torii along the path leading up to their secret spot. He had texted Nagisa and given him directions to the old place after both Haruka and Byakuya had given their consent- there wasn't any reason not to share that place with their teammates, after all. Haruka nodded as he walked up the steps as well, looking around nonchalantly.<p>

"Time flies." Byakuya agreed, holding onto the wooden railing along the side of the steps as she walked on. Despite how old these steps obviously were, they were actually in pretty good condition- the architects who had built this old shrine did quite a good job.

"You seem to have gotten used to those." Makoto commented idly, gesturing to the clogs on Byakuya's feet.

"I may look like it, but I'm actually trying very hard not to fall." Byakuya responded, chuckling albeit sheepishly. She quietly swore that the next time she wore a yukata, she was wearing sneakers.

"Need me to carry you?" Makoto asked jokingly, slowing down slightly to fall into step next to the girl.

"Shove off." Byakuya replied lightly, not really meaning any offense with the statement. Makoto just laughed at that, before placing a hand on her back as they walked along.

"Don't worry." He murmured, his green eyes kind as he met her inquisitive gaze. "I won't let you fall."

"...I know." Byakuya mumbled in response, turning her face away as she felt her cheeks heating up. Given the suddenly lightheaded feeling she was getting, she idly wondered if Rei could have been right when he said people could faint from too much blood rush to the face...

Thankfully, the journey to the top of the hill was relatively short and they made it up there without much trouble. The moment she caught sight of the familiar place, all the embarrassment Byakuya had felt earlier disappeared; instead being replaced by nostalgia.

"After all these years, I still can't believe no one bothers to come up here." The Shion immediately headed for the railing by the cliff side that overlooked the festival- it was just as she remembered. "They really don't know what they're missing."

"Yeah." Haruka nodded, leaning against the railing as well. He had to admit- he'd missed this sight. Makoto just smiled softly as he stood beside his two friends, both of whom looked absolutely content and at ease up here. He gladly joined them in looking out over the cliff side, enjoying the moment of silence and peace.

"You know, I'm sort of thirsty." Makoto announced after a while as he stood up straight again. "I think I'll go pick up some drinks for us."

"You want one of us to follow you?" Byakuya asked, turning to face the tall boy for a moment. Makoto just shook his head as he headed for the steps.

"No, that's alright." He called back over his shoulder as he walked on. "I'll just be a minute!"

"Alright!" Byakuya responded, giving him a light wave. After he left, she turned back to lean her elbows on the railing, a light smile on her face as she took in the beautiful view. She really was glad to be up here again- it made her feel at peace.A sudden thought occured to her just then, and she reached into her yukata and drew out her wallet, flipping it open to dig something out. Haruka observed her actions silently, wondering what she was doing... until she took out a familiar photograph that he recognized all too well.

"Remember when Ao-nii took this?" Byakuya asked softly, passing the photo to him. Despite how much older they were now, the picture still said so much about their current personalities. "No matter how much time passes, we really don't change that much, do we? Our thoughts and ideals may differ, but in the end... our roots will always remain the same." Here, Byakuya looked up, meeting Haruka's eye as she continued sincerely. "We became a team, and we will always be one. That's what I believe, Haru-kun. That's a bond that cannot be broken."

"Byakuya..." Haruka just stared at his longtime friend- this was a further affirmation of the feelings she had confided in him about that day at the pool. He couldn't help but feel a certain warmth at her words- she truly felt so strongly for all of them as her teammates. Byakuya just smiled at his speechlessness, and turned back to watch the festival lights again.

"It's thanks to you all that I can keep on moving forth. If not for you guys... I might have ended in a far worse place." As she said it, Byakuya couldn't help but think of Rin. But even so, her mind remained serene- she had already said what she had to say to him, there was no need for her to hold on to that bitter burden any more. "So, thank you. Thank you all so much."

"There's no need for thanks, Byaku-chan." A familiar voice rang out, catching the two teens' attentions. They both turned to see Makoto strolling up to them, wearing a smile on his face as he toted three cans along with him.

"Mako." Byakuya greeted, a small smirk on her face- for once, she wasn't embarrassed at being caught expressing her feelings. As Haruka passed her photo back to her, she simply put it back inside her wallet without batting an eyelash. "Ever heard of knocking?"

"I didn't want to interrupt." Makoto explained as he walked up to his two friends. He handed one can to Haru and the other to Byakuya, both of whom accepted the drinks thankfully. Popping open the third can, Makoto joined his two companions in leaning against the strong railing, allowing himself to admire the view for a bit. After a moment, though, his eyes flicked to his left, where Haruka was being as silent as ever. He seemed to be contemplating something, and once more, Makoto wondered if Haruka would ever tell them what he was thinking about.

As these concerns ran through his head, Makoto almost started when he felt something touch his arm. Turning to see what it was, he was a bit surprised to see Byakuya laying her hand on his arm, sending him a silent message with her gaze to tell him that she was supporting him. Somehow, that gave him the push he needed to approach his best friend, and he shot her a grateful smile as he turned back to Haruka.

"...You know," Makoto started smilingly, his expression relaxed as he gazed up at the sky for a moment. Even though he couldn't see Haruka's expression, he knew the boy was looking at him while he spoke. "We didn't get to prepare for that relay, so I got a bit frantic. Swimming as hard as I could so the next person could go..." Here, Makoto met Haruka's gaze, a soft smile on his face as he recalled what he had felt when they swam their first relay all those years ago. "But in the process, I remembered what we saw that day. I was so happy to swim in a relay with you- with everyone."

Haruka seemed surprised at the confession from his best friend, and for a moment he appeared almost stunned. The warmth he felt in his chest grew even stronger, and Haruka found his eyes stinging slightly as he lowered his gaze.

"I'm..." He began slowly, turning back towards the view. However, it didn't escape his friends' notice that his voice had quavered ever so slightly. "Not so sure anymore."

"Hm?" Makoto tilted his head. He hadn't really expected Haru to say that, and now he was completely focused on his childhood friend as Haruka continued to speak.

"I don't need a reason to swim. I just want to feel the water." Haruka quoted himself, his voice doubtful. "That's what I always believed. But... when I lost to him, everything became dark." Here, Haruka paused for a moment, recalling the day he had lost to Rin once again. He remembered it all clearly- the vicious smirk. Rin's victorious expression. Those cruel words.

_'This means I'll never swim with you again. Never.'_

"I won't get to swim with Rin again." Haruka muttered quietly. Even though his voice seemed low, there was a deep sadness to it- something that made even Makoto start. This was the first time Haruka had ever confessed his true thoughts and feelings, and it far exceeded his expectations.

"I didn't care about anything at that point. Not the tournament or anything else..." Haruka's grip on his still-sealed can tightened ever so slightly, his voice growing a bit stronger as he continued. "But then I saw you guys swim. I thought, 'I trained hard with these guys'." All of his friends, giving nothing but their all for their beloved team. "I might end up being nothing more than a filler. But if you guys really wanted to swim in a relay... I would swim."

That feeling he had when he had dove in for that relay. That moment of temporary freedom that he had always felt whenever he swam. But unlike all those other times, there was something different waiting for him when he emerged...

"That was when I remembered how it felt to swim in the same lane together, how it felt to hear your friends giving you all their hopes, how it felt when everyone was waiting at the finish line."

The sight of all his friends smiling at him, their happy expressions as they held out their hands to him and grinned at the victory they had gotten together. Their hugs, their laughter... their love.

Haruka clutched the fabric of his shirt, just over where his heart should have been. When he turned back to face Makoto and Byakuya, his blue eyes shone with emotion as he looked at his friends dead in the eye and he made his confession.

"It made me feel just as happy!" Haruka declared, his joy showing clearly in his voice. It was arguably the most emotion he'd ever used in his voice his entire life, and it was completely sincere.

Makoto looked completely taken aback, and Byakuya looked like she shared the sentiment. However, as soon as they realized just what Haruka was confessing to them- for the first time in all their years of friendship- smiles broke out across their faces.

"Haru..." "Haru-kun!" The two teens exclaimed, their faces slightly flushed as they were immensely touched by the boy's proclamation.

"Haru-chan! Did you really mean that?" A voice rang out, calling for the attention of the three teens. Standing at the torii leading into the empty compound was none other than their other two teammates- Rei and Nagisa, the latter having called out earlier.

"When did you two get here?" Makoto inquired, surprised that he hadn't even heard them- and they were wearing clogs! Rei just smiled as he pushed himself off the torii post he had been leaning on, adjusting his glasses in his trademark fashion before smiling at the Nanase.

"You have your answer, Haruka-senpai." He declared in satisfaction, glad to see that the senior had finally gotten all his thoughts in place. All their worries could now be put to rest.

"Nagisa. Rei. Makoto." Haruka called his teammates' names individually, and they all smiled determinedly as they met his firm gaze. As Haruka continued, his voice continued to resonate with the strength and feelings his teammates all gave to him. "I want to swim in the relay. I want to swim with you guys! Again!"

"Haru!" "Haruka-senpai!" "Haru-chan!" They all exclaimed happily, beyond overjoyed to have their normally passive teammate finally showing his true appreciation for them in his words. Byakuya just smiled at the sight- the thin barrier that had stood between them had disappeared with Haruka's admittance, and the connection they shared would only grow from this. It was wonderful.

"Byakuya," Haruka continued all of a sudden, his blue eyes bright as he turned to face his friend. His expression softened slightly as he met the Shion girl's somewhat startled gaze- she must not have expected to be addressed as well. "Keep supporting us. We won't let you down."

"...You'll never let me down." Byakuya replied as her surprise faded away, her own smile gentle as she gazed determinedly at her beloved friends. "I'm already proud of all of you. No matter what happens, I'll always stay be your side."

"And we'll stay by yours, Bya-kun!" Nagisa announced, his grin shining with such happiness it was almost brighter than the sun. "All of us... we'll stick together no matter what!"

"Okay!" They agreed exuberantly, all of them wearing smiles on their faces.

"That means we have to start training hard tomorrow to make it to nationals!" Nagisa added excitedly. Oh boy, he couldn't wait!

"I'm getting fired up!" Rei added as well. He had to make sure to push as hard as he could- he would improve by as many leaps and bounds as he could.

"We have to make sure we're in top shape by the next time!" Byakuya agreed. She couldn't just bet on luck now- she had to really push for the sake of her team.

"We should head home so we're ready tomorrow!" Makoto concluded, his voice determined. He had never been more proud to be captain of such a wonderful team.

"No. One last thing." Haruka interrupted, catching them by surprise. The boy wore a light smile on his face as he began to walk towards the steps once again, clearly having a destination in mind.

"Huh? What is it?"

* * *

><p>That question was answered soon enough, because after about half an hour of kingyo tsuri- with Haruka as the fisher while everyone else cheered on- Makoto was given the honour of being the proud new owner of five goldfish.<p>

"I'm impressed, Haruka-senpai." Rei appraised as he watched the goldfish swimming around in the plastic bag Makoto was holding. All of the goldfish had their own individual colours and patterns, each one unique in their own way. Rei idly wondered if Haruka had actually deliberately chosen to scoop those specific goldfish- that took a lot of skill.

"They're really pretty." Byakuya added, staring in fascination at the goldfish. She had always been interested in marine life- needless to say, she was completely nuts for aquariums.

"Can I really have this?" Makoto asked, his tone both surprised and happy. Haruka had gotten this... for him?

"Yeah." Haruka nodded, pleased to see the happy expression on his best friend's face. It was the least he could do for Makoto after everything the Tachibana had done for him all these years.

"You're the only one who's most likely to take care of them." Nagisa added. It was true- Makoto really was the best with animals out of all of them, not to mention that he had experience when it came to dealing with goldfish.

"Thank you, Haru-kun." Byakuya whispered to Haruka under her breath, giving his hand a light squeeze. None of the Iwatobi bunch missed the sentimental reason for Haruka's choosing to do this for Makoto, and it only warmed their hearts further to see that the Nanase truly did care for them. Haruka just gave her a small, sincere smile in return.

"I'll take good care of them." Makoto affirmed, smiling warmly at his companions. He just couldn't express how thankful he was for this gift.

"Why don't you name them as well?" Rei suggested. That got them all thinking, pondering what to call these new pets.

"Just go with Nagisa, Rei, Haruka, Byakuya and Makoto, then." Nagisa suggested.

"I'm not so sure about that..." Rei rebutted. Being called a Butterfly was already tough for him to deal with- having a goldfish named after him would really be pushing it.

"It's obvious we should go with Penguin, Butterfly, Dolphin, Turtle and Orca." Byakuya added her input.

"That's even less likely." Rei retorted.

"Mackerel, Bonito, Tuna, Salmon and Jackfish." Haruka suggested seriously, his solemn voice making the statement all the more comical.

"Ehhh?" They all exclaimed.

"Sounds delicious!" Byakuya chirped.

"Whaaaat?" That only threw them aback even more! However, their exclamations soon turned into joyous laughter, and all of them laughed freely at the infectiously happy atmosphere. All the strange looks or comments from passersby at their seemingly childish behaviour were ignored, as the five friends all simply basked in the warmth and happiness of the moment.

After all, the only ones whose opinions mattered were each other's, and nothing else.

* * *

><p>"Ahhh, this was actually pretty fun!" Mikoshiba declared as he stretched his arms above his head, a casual grin on his face. He, along with the other members of the Samezuka swim team, were standing at the train stop, waiting to catch the train back. "We should all do this again some time, eh?"<p>

"Yes, Captain!" The rest of the team responded, smiling just as widely as their captain. It wasn't often that they got to relax like this.

"Is anyone else missing?" Mikoshiba inquired, glancing around. With so many members to watch out for, he didn't want to miss anyone...

"Captain," Nitori raised his hand, a vaguely concerned look on his face. "Matsuoka-senpai is still-"

The boy cut himself off when he heard the sound of footsteps quickly approaching the waiting platform, paired with the sound of someone panting heavily. Turning around, Nitori caught sight of his crimson-haired senior, who had his hands on his knees while he keeled over, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

"Matsuoka, what are you doing?" Seijuuro asked, raising a brow at the boy. What could he have done to exhaust himself like that? Heck, they could even see his sweat soaking into his shirt!

"The train's about to arrive." Nitori commented lightly, trying to defuse the situation. He was just glad that Rin had returned- that in itself was a huge relief, given how dejected the Matsuoka had seemed earlier. Rin didn't really respond to that, but he managed to straighten himself up, finally regaining the energy to stand up properly again. As he did so, his eyes immediately locked on to his captain- he had spent hours and hours thinking on an idea, and had finally made up his mind. This was the only thing he could do, and he would see it through. He had to get his answer.

"Captain, we need to talk."

Crimson eyes met gold, and the resolution in Rin's eyes was enough to catch Mikoshiba's rapt attention. Matsuoka looked absolutely serious- even more so than he'd ever seen before. Knowing that his captain was listening to him, Rin's voice was firm as he put forth his request...

"I want to join the relay."

* * *

><p>Later that night, Kou shook out her hair from all the pins and ties that had been holding it up all night, giving a small sigh of relief at finally getting it down. Despite how much she liked looking good, the aftermath was always a total pain. Looking at the mirror on her dressing table, she nodded- now, for the makeup.<p>

Right as she was wiping off her eyeliner with some makeup remover and cotton, her cellphone rang, causing her to start slightly. The Matsuoka glanced curiously at the screen, wondering who it was that would call her so late in the night. Much to her surprise, she saw the name 'Byakuya Shion' flash across the screen, and she quickly picked up, eager to hear what the senior had to say.

"Byakuya-chan?" Kou greeted eagerly, nearly bouncing in her seat in anticipation. The last time Byakuya had called her, it was to tell her that Makoto had asked her out. Could she be calling for a similar reason now? Had Makoto made a move on her? Had she made a move on him? Did something happen at the festival? Ooh, Kou could barely contain her excitement...

"Kou-chan..." Byakuya said slowly, her voice somewhat hesitant. It was the exact same greeting and tone she had used the last time she'd called, and Kou held her breath as she awaited what Byakuya was about to say. Please say her plan worked, pleaseeee say her plan worked...

"How do I get all this stuff off?" Byakuya finally finished, her tone utterly confused.

Kou deflated. Sighing in disappointment, she suppressed a groan and let her face fall into her free hand, her elbow propped on the tabletop. She should've known- Byakuya was completely clueless. But even so, Kou repressed her disappointment and slowly gave Byakuya instructions on how to remove all her makeup. She had hoping so much for an update on the progress with Makoto- she thought for sure something interesting would have happened! It was almost as if all that effort didn't completely pay off...

Well, at least the look on Makoto's face had been worth it. She would just have to try harder next time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I am dying. This whole festival arc tested me so much- I had to stop writing a couple of times just to walk around a bit to stop myself from exploding from the awkwardness, haha! I don't know if I pulled it off, but I tried. Sorry if my struggling was evident in the writing xD<strong>

**As usual, thank you very much to Savage Kill, Shizuka Kitsune, Mazgrl98 and MyFriendsAreMyPower for reviewing, and HeArT777SoUl for following this story! ;D**

**Also, guys- I'll be going back to once a week updates again, since school is on again OTL. So... see ya'll guys then!**

**BUT WAIT. What's this? There's still more to this chapter? O.o Haha, I kid, I kid. Enjoy the special ending (pre-ending?), my dear readers!**

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><p>(After the festival)<p>

"That gift was thoughtful of Haru-kun." Byakuya commented idly as Makoto walked her home. It was well past their normal curfew times, but in this occasion it could be exempted- hence neither of them needed to worry about a lecture from Makoto's mom. They had already bid Haru goodnight as they dropped hin off at his place, and were walking at their own leisurely pace now. Unfortunately, Byakuya was still stuck in the yukata, and her feet were killing her after the walking around in the clogs, too. However, she had to admit it was not quite as uncomfortable now that she was in a less stuffy environment.

"It was." Makoto responded, a gentle smile on his face as he gazed at the bag of goldfish in his hands. "It feels just like that last time, all those years ago... only better."

"Hm?"

"Because I got to spend it with you guys." Makoto explained, his expression gentle. The whole day had been filled with unexpected yet pleasant surprises, and he was glad for them. Byakuya just returned his smile, before she gestured to the goldfish in his hands.

"You sure you don't want to drop those off at home, first? I can walk home myself." She asked.

"It would be rude of me if I let a girl walk home herself. And it's dangerous to be alone this late at night." Makoto responded.

"I live four houses down from you, Mako."

"You can't be too careful."

"You're just paranoid."

"I'm still walking you back anyway."

"Should have guessed." Byakuya sighed, though she wasn't really all that offended. She couldn't really get mad at Makoto, anyway.

"Did you have a good time, at least?" Makoto asked, tilting his head at her. He hoped she did- if this was counted as their first date, he didn't want to leave a bad impression.

"...Yeah." Byakuya nodded, a smile playing on her lips as well. "Good thing I didn't faceplant earlier though- that would have diminished the 'goodness' somewhat."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Makoto chuckled, the two of them nearing Byakuya's house. Out of habit, he walked the girl up to the front step, waiting patiently as she unlocked the door. Byakuya brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ears, muttering to herself as she sought the right key to unlock the door- it was just another habit that had stuck with her.

Makoto's eyes softened as he looked at Byakuya, admiring her profile while she wasn't looking. She looked breathtaking tonight, and he had no idea when- or even if- he would see her dressed up like this again. Makoto couldn't help but let his eyes be drawn to her lips again- just as they had that night before the relay...

"Thanks for walking me home, Mako." Byakuya thanked sincerely, smiling at the boy once she had finished unlocking the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Just as she took a step into her house, however, Makoto made a split-second decision. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Wait!" He interjected quickly, grasping her wrist with his hand. The move startled the girl as she looked back at him, her expression puzzled.

"What is it?" She asked, confusion evident in her voice.

Makoto swallowed hard, realizing that he couldn't back out now after his impulsive move. Slowly, he placed his goldfish down on the porch step, before glancing back up at Byakuya. She looked absolutely perplexed, and his heartbeat shot up as he caught her eye. He was nervous, but there was no better time than now- who knew when the next time he could get her alone like this would be...

"Byaku-chan..." Makoto's green eyes held her gaze hesitantly. "May I... may I kiss you?"

Byakuya's heart stopped. It took a moment to let what he had said sink in before her cheeks coloured, her eyes widening exponentially. Makoto was asking for his permission to kiss her? Was he serious? She had never kissed a boy before! What was she supposed to do? Make the first move? Just stand and wait? Punch him?

The third one sounded tempting. It was all she really knew how to do.

However, the answer escaped her lips before she even realized it.

"You may." She said, trying to sound nonchalant. It didn't work- her voice came out as a nervous squeak.

Makoto heaved a small sigh of relief at not being rejected, but the relief quickly changed back to panic as he realized what he had to do now. Steeling himself, Makoto released Byakuya's hand and raised his own- slightly shaking- one to the back of her head, gently pulling her closer. Right as their faces were inches apart, he met her gaze once more.

"Please don't hate me for this." He pleaded. And then he shut his eyes and closed the distance, placing his lips over Byakuya's as he gave her a long kiss.

For a moment, Byakuya remained frozen, not quite comprehending what exactly was going on. When her mind finally kicked in, though, she slowly relaxed and let her eyes fall shut, reaching up and wrapping her hands around his neck as she returned his kiss. Makoto's embrace was gentle and innocent- even during a moment like this- and she felt his other hand moving to her back as he pulled her even closer to him, the two of them losing themselves in the moment.

Was she supposed to feel this lightheaded?

After a long while, the two of them finally separated, both panting slightly from the lack of oxygen. Both their faces turned scarlet as they realized what they had just done, and they quickly- though albeit reluctantly- released each other from their intimate embrace. Makoto cleared his throat nervously and quickly backed up a few paces, nearly tripping on the porch steps.

"I-I didn't- that was..." Makoto stuttered, not quite believing that he had done something so brash. He ran his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "J-just... goodnight, Byakuya." Makoto said, finally meeting the Shion girl's wide-eyed gaze.

He had the strongest urge to kiss her again.

Quickly picking up the goldfish he had left on the porch, Makoto gave Byakuya a short wave before turning on his heel, nearly running on his way back to his house. He needed to get out of there before he did something stupid. Again.

Though he had to admit- he definitely hadn't expected his first kiss to be that intense... and was that strawberry he tasted?

Byakuya just stared after the Tachibana boy as he ran out of sight, her eyes still wide. Slowly, she raised a hand to her lips, her thoughts in complete disarray. She couldn't believe it...

She had just been kissed. By Makoto Tachibana.

She gave a girlish giggle at the thought and squealed a bit, before she came to her senses and slapped herself. Nope. There was no way she was going to let herself become a giggling, girly wreck just because of one kiss. Absolutely not.

...But she had to admit, that was one heck of a first kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>AN (2): Andddd now it's over! See ya'll guys next water time! ;D (congrats to those who guessed it would happen. Now ya'll don't have a reason to kill me just yet xD) <strong>


	45. Chapter 45

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

They said that simple beginnings often make for happy endings. That the most unimpressive gesture or event could trigger a whole chain of events that would lead to a wonderful end that no one had seen coming. It was the simplest, most normal meeting that would bring the most joy to your future.

Well, Makoto Tachibana was calling it- he was calling bullshit. Because the first time he met Byakuya Shion, it had been far, FAR from normal. In fact, the first time they'd met was when she'd barreled into him when she was chasing after her neighbour's cat through the compound.

He honestly didn't know why of all the people in the world, he was the one that had the unfortunate luck of being rammed into by the broad, sturdy monster truck that was the five-year old Byakuya Shion. All he'd wanted back then was to go for a simple stroll with his mother to greet the new neighbours. If anyone asked what he felt the first time he saw Byakuya, he would respond by saying the only emotion he'd felt at the time was fear- nothing like that 'love at first sight' crap.

No one could blame him, though. If the first time you saw someone was when they were sprinting at breakneck speed after a cat, with a look of utter ferocity and determination on their face and you knew deep down that there was no way in hell said person would stop in time to avoid crashing into you, you'd be pretty intimidated yourself.

The downside to the whole fiasco? They both slammed into the ground and scraped their knees. The upside? That was how their mothers first met- worrying and fussing over their children. It was the start of a beautiful friendship for both the mothers and the children, however at the time, Makoto suffered more from social awkwardness as he spent more time in the company of the peculiar young girl. She was practically the polar opposite of his best friend- she was talkative, expressive, sometimes downright rude, and he had almost no idea how to socialize with her. His childish assumptions on what girls should be like- demure, sweet and polite- were utterly contradicted and the Shion girl's behaviour left him confused from the insane wake-up call.

As both Mrs Tachibana and Mrs Shion grew more accustomed to each others' company, it wasn't much longer until Haruka came into the mix once his mother became acquainted with Byakuya's mother through Mrs Tachibana as well. Both Makoto and Haruka had been friends since practically the day they were born- with both their fathers working in the same company as well as the close distance between their homes, it was simple enough for Mrs Nanase and Mrs Tachibana to acquaint their children with each other. Perhaps it was the span of time they had known each other, or perhaps it was one of those 'opposites attract' occurences- no one could tell- but despite the difference in their personalities, the two boys had connected a lot better than anyone had expected.

Even as a child, the Nanase boy was extremely quiet and passive- even more so than his teenage self. Similarly, Makoto wasn't able to read Haruka quite as well back then, though the silent communication they established definitely developed over the years, allowing the two of them to convey whole sentences and emotions through a simple glance or gesture.

Haruka wasn't much better at socializing with Byakuya than Mako was- even as they all started attending the same kindergarten together, neither he nor Makoto knew quite how to talk with the Shion girl. It was somewhat discomforting for them- they were so used to simply having each other's company that a third member seemed so out of place for them, let alone a girl. Byakuya herself, however, held no such reservations. She spoke freely with the boys, voicing her opinion when she felt like it and acting on impulse. She kept herself mostly in line so as to not get into disciplinary problems, but that didn't stop her brashness- much to the boys' chagrin.

The event that truly broke the ice between the three of them occured halfway through their first year of kindergarten, when Byakuya kicked a football straight into the face of a fellow classmate during PE when said classmate was teasing Mako and Haru for their feminine names.

Byakuya's mom was called up and she was grounded for a week, but it was after that incident that both Haru and Makoto began to open up to Byakuya. Though her actions were rather harsh and perhaps even counted as an overreaction, it was through that incident that the girl had shown her loyalty and protectiveness over those she deemed her friends- something that neither Makoto nor Haruka missed. That was what made them decide to make up for the trouble they had indirectly gotten her into by giving her a chance.

It was a gradual process, but they slowly learned to speak more comfortably with each other, and once the initial awkwardness had dissipated they were practically stuck like glue. Her boyish personality that had once come off as intimidating and peculiar now came as a relief to the boys as it allowed more room for similar interests to culminate between them. While other girls played with dolls and braided each others' hair, she was playing with mud and climbing trees with the boys. However, there was one thing in particular that really held them together- swimming.

At the age of eight, all three of them were enrolled into the Iwatobi Swim Club, where Byakuya's mother worked as a coach. Haruka was a natural from the very beginning, besting even some of the more experienced club members barely a few months after he'd joined. His love for the water had grown and developed from this early stage in his life, and his affinity for the sport soon had him being called a prodigy- not that he cared much about that. He always knew- even as a child- that such a title was fleeting, as all talents simply became normal once one reached a certain age. All he cared about was enjoying himself as he swam; a trait that was greatly encouraged by his first coach- Byakuya's mother.

Makoto took a bit longer to grow accustomed to the water sport, though he was quite the fast learner as well. However, what the others didn't know was that he was different from them in a very prominent way- and that was because he was afraid of water. Many assumed that he swam with all his strength as fast he could simply because, but there was far more to it- he was actually trying to get out of the water as quickly as possible. He loved swimming- he really did- but his fear just stuck with him, and it wasn't something that escaped Mikasa Shion's notice, either. She was well aware of Makoto's phobia (thanks to her connection with his mother) and while she never told either of his friends about it, she did pull him aside once to ask if he would like to quit swimming because of his fear. However, the boy refused. No matter how scared he was, he enjoyed being able to spend time with his two closest friends, and that overrode all of his other worries.

Byakuya- being the daughter of a professional swimmer- had been swimming for as long as she could remember. Her longer acquaintance with the sport lead to the further developing of her skills, and both she and her brother seemed to have had acquired some of their mother's talent as well. Byakuya loved swimming almost as much as Haru did, and barely needed and particular motivation or prompt to train her swimming abilities- unlike when it came to doing homework. The three friends grew even closer with the bond this interest provided, and they enjoyed every minute of their time together.

Now, the day they met Nagisa Hazuki was also the day Haruka Nanase wore a girl's swimsuit. It was also the day Byakuya first heard the words 'drag queen' from the older kids and had inquired for its meaning, much to her mother's distress and reluctance.

It all started one fine day, when the trio was hanging around the vending machine of the swim club before practice. It was Byakuya who first noticed the younger blonde boy, who was blinking back tears and sniffling a little as he kept to himself in a corner. Nagisa Hazuki just stared at the girl's swimsuit that had been packed in his bag, uncharacteristically teary-eyed as he didn't know what to do. He couldn't possibly wear this- he'd get laughed at mercilessly. Not a good way to start his first day of swim club...

"You okay?"

"E-eh?!" Nagisa jumped and spun around when he heard a voice call out, immediately moving to hide the swimsuit from sight. Standing before him was another kid his age- presumably a girl, judging from the swimsuit she was wearing beneath her shirt, though her hair was choppy and short like a boy's.

"I asked if you were okay." The girl repeated, her tone almost carefree. "You look like you're gonna cry at any moment."

"I do not!" Nagisa defended immediately, determined to keep up his front to hopefully avoid getting laughed at. The girl frowned a bit at that and made to speak again, but just then an olive-haired boy- also around their age- came into the scene and tried to interject, chuckling a bit sheepishly in an attempt to placate Nagisa's defensive front.

"E-excuse me..." The olive-haired boy said hesitantly, his green eyes darting between Nagisa and the dark-haired girl. "What Byaku-chan means to say is- you look a bit upset. Is something wrong?"

Nagisa hesitated when he heard that question. He honestly didn't feel like saying anything to them- he barely knew them, after all- but right then, he didn't know what else to do. And besides, both the kids in front of him right then seemed to be pretty nice- even if the girl seemed a bit rough with her words. So, the blonde steeled himself as he let the words fall from his lips..

"...It's my swimsuit." He mumbled out, staring at the floor as he shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"Hm?" The boy tilted his head, not understanding the statement. Nagisa continued to elaborate.

"M-my sisters put a girl's swimsuit into my bag.."

"So you're stuck with that?" The girl asked, her voice noticeably softer than before. "And you don't have a spare?"

"No..."

"Give it to me." A new voice spoke, startling all of them. Turning around, they saw a raven-haired boy with clear blue eyes standing before them, a blank expression on his face as he put forth the request.

"Haru?" The olive-haired boy exclaimed in surprise- it would seem that the three kids were acquainted then, Nagisa deduced.

"Give me the swimsuit." The boy- Haru- repeated, his hand outstretched for the swimming apparel. Unsure if he really had the right to turn down this cool, nonchalant stranger, Nagisa slowly handed over his swimsuit, which the boy took. He then turned around and walked away- heading towards the changing rooms.

"H-hey, Haru-kun! What are you gonna do?" The girl called out, her voice clearly evicting her confusion at the boy's actions. The other olive-haired boy Looked rather perplexed at this 'Haru''s actions as well.

Haruka simply kept quiet as he made his way to the changing rooms, ignoring Byakuya's indignant exclamation. He didn't quite want to say his plan out loud...

* * *

><p>"Why won't they just shut up already?" Byakuya Shion- Nagisa had found out her name earlier after Haruka Nanase had left him, the girl and Makoto Tachibana by the vending machine, allowing them to introduce themselves- growled out, her fists clenching and unclenching in annoyance.<p>

"Well, this sort of thing isn't something you see every day..." Makoto justified weakly, trying to placate the girl's annoyance at what was going on. Nagisa just looked extremely nervous as they all stood by the poolside of the swimming club, not sure how he should feel about this whole thing...

Nanase had volunteered to exchange the girl's swimsuit with his own, leaving Nagisa in his swimming trunks while he himself wore the one-piece the blonde had accidentally brought along.

The other kids gathered around the pool were jeering and taunting the Nanase boy for his apparel, calling him names- some, Nagisa didn't even know the meaning of- and basically being mean to the boy. While Nanase remained silent and passive throughout the whole thing, Nagisa couldn't help but feel extremely guilty. That would have been him getting made fun of if Nanase hadn't helped him out, and now he was getting made fun of because he had offered him his help...

"Alright, alright!" A strict voice rang out, catching everyone's attention. A woman with auburn hair that was pulled back into a bun was walking towards the crowd gathered by the pool, giving them all a stern look as she gave the next command. "Everyone, into the pool! Let's start with warm-up laps- go, now!"

There was no hesitation. Everyone practically rushed into the pool, not wanting to stick around to invoke the wrath of the normally gentle Coach Shion. From the expression on her face, they all knew she was dead serious and that anyone who tried to defy her order by continuing to jest at the boy wearing a girl's swimsuit would face her punishment. Quite frankly, the mere idea of Coach Shion getting mad was terrifying. Nagisa looked a lot like he wanted to follow after the other kids who got into the pool, but a look from the coach told him that she wanted him and the rest of Nanase's bunch to stay put.

"All right," Mikasa said as she approached them, her voice and expression a lot softer now that she wasn't ordering people around. Her brown eyes- Nagisa noted that they looked exactly like Byakuya's- shone with concern as she addressed the four children. "What's this about?"

"I-it's my fault, Coach." Nagisa said nervously, shifting his feet uncomfortably. "I brought the wrong swimsuit with me, and Nanase-kun is just trying to help..." He trailed off, his explanation enough to let the coach get the gist of the whole situation.

"Really..." She mused thoughtfully, before she tilted her head at the blonde boy. "You're... Nagisa Hazuki, right? The new kid?"

Startled that the coach remembered who he was, Nagisa nodded quickly in affirmation. The coach gave him a kind smile, crouching down in front of him as she continued.

"I'm Coach Shion, Hazuki-kun. And don't feel too bad about this- we all make mistakes." She said kindly, patting his head. She then turned to Haruka as she continued. "And you, Haruka-kun- you're a wonderful person for helping Hazuki-kun out. I'm very impressed with your behaviour."

Haruka just averted his gaze at the woman's statement, his face flushing slightly at the compliment. Coach Shion always was his more preferred coach, and to get a compliment from her actually made him very happy. The coach just gave a small chuckle at the boy's attempt at nonchalance before she returned to the matter at hand.

"But let's try to settle this predicament, alright? I think we have some extra swimsuits in the back- why don't you and Haruka-kun come with me to see if we can find a spare?" She asked kindly, addressing Nagisa as she spoke.

"O-okay!" Nagisa said happily, relieved that there might be a way to get out of this embarrassing situation. The coach nodded once before standing up again, turning towards Byakuya and Makoto.

"You all really should have come to me in the first place." She said, her tone only slightly reprimanding as she addressed the two who were normally the ones leading their little group. "I could have been able to help earlier."

"We didn't really know what to do, obasan..." Makoto said sheepishly, ducking his head in embarassment.

"We're sorry." Byakuya added, also ducking her head. Mikasa just laughed again and patted the two kids' heads affectionately.

"Really, you kids get into the weirdest situations." Mikasa tutted none too seriously, before taking Nagisa's hand and leading him away and motioning for the others to follow. "Come on, let's go before we lose too much practice time."

Eventually, they did manage to find a spare swimsuit, thanks to the coach. She left the kids in the locker rooms after helping them do so, though, stating that she needed to go monitor how the other kids were faring. After both Nagisa and Haruka settled the whole situation- Haruka putting his own swimsuit back on while Nagisa wore the spare- they were all set to return to the pool and join practice.

"Nanase-kun! Tachibana-kun! Shion-kun!" Nagisa called out just as they were about to leave the locker rooms. When they turned around upon being called, Nagisa bowed deeply towards them, his gratefulness evident in his voice. "Th-thank you very much for your help!"

Makoto and Byakuya smiled at that, glad to see that the boy wasn't quite so down now. Before they could respond, however..

"Whatever." Haruka said blandly, turning to walk out of the locker rooms before anyone could stop him. He had already lost a lot of time that he could have spent swimming, and he wasn't about to waste more time unnecessarily.

Though he had to admit- he was pretty satisfied that Hazuki was feeling better.

"So cold..." Byakuya deadpanned as the three of them were left alone in the locker rooms, staring after the stoic boy. Makoto glanced back at Nagisa, who was staring after the boy with his mouth agape.

"Don't mind Haru," Makoto began apologetically. "He's a bit-"

"He's so cool!" Nagisa exclaimed all of a sudden, grinning at the doorway where Haru had exited. There were practically stars in his eyes as he continued. "Just like a hero from a comic book!"

"E-eh?!"

And that was how the four kids came to meet. However, their group wasn't quite complete yet- not until a certain redheaded boy found himself moving to the small town of Iwatobi. Be it by fate or by chance, it was the arrival of this boy into the lives of the four friends that brought about the biggest and greatest change to their lives. His name...

* * *

><p>"Hello everyone! My name is Rin Matsuoka!" The redheaded boy stood at the front of the class, having written his name in big, bold letters on the black board behind him. "I previously went to Sano Elementary School. I have a girly name, but I'm a boy!" As he said this, he gestured to the letters scrawled on the board, before he bowed towards his classmates seated before him. "Looking forward to being in this class!"<p>

While most students were gazing curiously at the class' new addition and whispering quietly among themselves as they wondered what he was like, there were two students who were staring at him for an entire reason altogether- and that was because they recognized this kid. Makoto Tachibana and Haruka Nanase had seen Rin Matsuoka quite a few times during their swimming tournaments- not as a spectator, but as a fellow participant. This they knew all too well, given that he had beaten them both at the 50m event of their respective strokes. The duo's third companion, Byakuya Shion didn't seem too curious or too bored- she vaguely recognized the boy, but it wasn't enough to pique her interest. It wasn't like she had much business with him, anyway...

"Alright, class." The teacher announced, clapping her hands for attention. "Let's all try to make Matsuoka-kun feel welcome, alright? Let's see..." the teacher's eyes swept across the classroom, looking for a place to seat the new boy. Spotting a free space, she pointed at the desk to Byakuya's right, she directed Rin. "There's a free seat there, Matsuoka-kun- right next to Shion-chan. You can sit there."

Okay. Now she had to have business with him, Byakuya deduced. The world just seemed to love proving her wrong.

"Right!" Rin agreed easily, wanting to leave a good impression among his peers and teachers in his new environment. As he followed the teacher's instructions and sat next to the dark-haired girl, he turned towards his new neighbour, eager to get on friendly terms with her- he recognized her all too well, she had been the champion of the individual medley for quite a few tournaments, not to mention that she had a renowned predecessor. "So, what's your full name, Shion?"

"Ah?" The girl started upon being addressed, apparently not anticipating his friendliness. However, she quickly regained her composure, and shot Rin a small smile as she responded. "I'm Byakuya."

"Byakuya..." Rin mused. For a moment, the Shion was sure that he was going to point out the masculinity of that name, but instead he surprised her again by grinning at her. "That's a pretty cool name!"

"Oh, thanks." Byakuya blinked in surprise for a moment, before she slowly began to return the Matsuoka's friendly grin.

"You were in the swimming tournament last summer, right?" Rin asked suddenly, a curious expression in his crimson eyes. "Individual medley?"

"Yeah." Byakuya replied, somewhat surprised that he remembered her. She assumed he would only have noticed Haruka and Makoto, given that he had competed in the same events as them..

"I thought so!" Rin exclaimed, his grin widening. "You won first place! That was really cool!"

"You really think so?" Byakuya asked, flattered at the praise. Before they could continue the conversation however, their teacher called out to them.

"Matsuoka-kun. Shion-chan." The teacher shot them a reprimanding look from behind her glasses as she gestured to the blackboard. "Please pay attention now- you can talk later."

"Okay, sensei." "Pardon me, sensei." The two kids replied, immediately heeding the order with a hint of chagrin. It never was nice to get scolded in front of the teacher and have the whole class stare at you. Byakuya went back to listening idly to the teacher for a few minutes as she droned on and on about English nouns and verbs, feeling almost bored as time ticked past. She already knew most of this stuff- her brother taught her lots of things about the subject already- and the teacher's voice was beginning to sound like a monotonous drone...

A shuffling sound and the feeling of something tapping her shoulder lightly broke her out of her reverie, however, and the Shion glanced back at her table to see a folded sheet of paper lying there. It definitely hadn't been there before, and she curiously took hold of it and opened it up to see what it said. The sheet was completely blank, save for one sentence scrawled across the top...

'You look bored. I am, too. Wanna use this to talk?'

Byakuya glanced to her right, and she saw the Matsuoka just looking straight ahead, looking as if he was paying rapt attention to the teacher. For a moment, Byakuya wondered if she was imagining things, until Rin shot her a glance out of the corner of his eye and winked, a small smirk pulling at the edges of his lips.

Byakuya blinked in surprise. And then, a small smirk of her own crossed her face and she took hold of the paper, bringing the nib of her pencil down to write her response.

'Okay! So... whaddya wanna talk about?'

The moment the teacher turned her back to write something on the board, Byakuya quickly slipped the paper back onto Rin's desk before sitting back in her seat as though nothing had happened. As she waited for Rin to write his response, she looked to her left and caught Makoto's eye. The Tachibana was tilting his head curiously at her- silently asking her to explain what she was doing. Byakuya just shrugged in response, before jerking her head in Rin's direction- 'it was his idea.' Makoto looked like he wanted to ask more, but before he could, the teacher was facing the class once more as she continued the lesson. Deciding that he might as well leave his friend to do what she wanted, he turned back towards the teacher, focusing back on the lesson.

When Byakuya turned back to the front herself, she noticed that the piece of paper was on her desk once more. Unfolding it, she read the newest message...

'Which do you think is cooler? Aliens or monsters?'

Byakuya could tell that she was going to like this new kid.

* * *

><p>"Wow, this tree is huge!" Rin enthused as he, Tachibana, Nanase and Shion stood outside, next to the pool. He stared up at the large tree, his expression vaguely awed. "Is it a cherry blossom tree?"<p>

"It is." Makoto nodded, confirming the boy's guess.

"It's been here for years." Byakuya added.

"So come spring, there'll be a whole lot of blossoms falling into the pool!" Rin exclaimed, a bright grin on his face as he turned to look at the pool. He placed his arms behind his head nonchalantly, a wistful expression in his eyes. "I wanna try swimming in a pool full of cherry blossoms."

"The water will be too cold!" Makoto contradicted worriedly. Even as a kid, he was the voice of reason when it came to things. "You should wait until summer before you start swimming!"

"I was just kidding!" Rin waved his hands in an attempt to placate Makoto's worries. "There's no need to get so serious!"

"You have to admit- it would be quite an experience, though." Byakuya mused, trying to imagine such a sight.

"Almost dreamlike, eh?" Rin commented, shifting his gaze to the girl. From the little 'conversation' they'd had in class, he found the girl to be quite friendly company- Tachibana wasn't too bad, himself. Before Byakuya could respond to that, though, Haruka spoke up just then.

"I have a question for you." He said curtly, his expression unchanging. Rin started upon being called- geez, did this kid even have facial expressions? He looked so serious it was almost scary!

"Oh? What's up?" Rin asked, a sly smirk on his face as he continued cheekily- though his tone was a bit testy. "Looking to shut down the transfer student on his first day?"

"No." Makoto interrupted just then, laughing sheepishly as he corrected the Matsuoka's statement in Haruka's place. "I believe we've been in the same tournament."

"Oh, you remembered me?" Rin asked happily, glad that he had left a good enough impression on them to be remembered. However, he noted that Nanase's expression had stiffened slightly upon hearing that, and that his frown had grown deeper- if that was even possible. "What's with that scary look? I just happened to end up in this school when I moved. Coincidences are scary, huh?" Rin shrugged.

"Well, let's just hope there aren't any more, then." Byakuya commented jokingly, trying to alleviate the mild tension of the situation. "I don't think my frail old heart could take it."

"Really- you, frail?" Rin raised a teasing eyebrow at her. "This is coming from the girl who likes aliens?"

"What's wrong with liking aliens?" Byakuya asked defensively. However, before the dispute could continue, Haruka just turned on his heel and walked back towards the school building, feeling vaguely annoyed. The others all fell silent as they watched the Nanase leave them, not even glancing back.

"Don't mind Haru." Makoto said as he saw Rin's stumped expression. "He's always like that."

"Must be tough for you guys." Rin muttered in response, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"He isn't that bad." Makoto chuckled. Haru's attitude could come off as cold, but in truth, his best friend was actually quite kind.

"Yeah. Haru-kun is just bad with emotions, that's all." Byakuya added as well, rocking back and forth on her heels casually.

"If you say so." Rin shrugged. These two guys seemed to be pretty close to Nanase, so they would know him best, Rin deduced. Nanase seemed awfully uptight, but when Rin remembered just how good he was when he swam, it was enough to make him want to know him better. The kid was fast- amazing enough to catch Rin's attention. Even if he did beat Nanase at shorter distances, the raven-haired boy was still in a whole class of his own. Rin wanted to see him swim again- wanted to race him again.

But first...

"Seriously though- monsters are way better than aliens." Rin combated, speaking to Byakuya nonchalantly as they all headed back into the building as well.

"Oh come on!"

* * *

><p>As if it wasn't enough that Matsuoka was going to their school, fate decided to have another laugh at the trio of friends by dropping him into the place where they spent most of their free time together. Haruka, Makoto, Byakuya and Aoi all stood a ways away from the crowd of swim club members gathered around the new redheaded kid, who was relaying his introduction.<p>

"My name is Rin Matsuoka! I previously belonged to Sano Swimming Club! I have a girly name, but I'm a boy!" Rin proclaimed enthusiastically, eager to leave a good impression here, as well. The words he'd used were almost the same as the ones he'd used back at school, and once again, it made him seem friendly and sociable to the new crowd he was to hang around now.

"Girly name, huh?" The seventeen year-old Aoi mused, tilting his head at the crimson-haired boy. "Looks like that kid's got something in common with you lot already."

"You kind of have a point there." Makoto chuckled. Haruka just remained silent, stoically staring at Rin just as he had earlier that day in school.

"Who knows? Maybe the four of you could end up being the best of friends?" Aoi joked, wearing a light smirk on his face.

"Yeah right." Byakuya scoffed.

"You never know." Aoi shrugged, looking back at Rin. His mom was standing next to the kid as well, and seemed to be talking to him about something or other. Mikasa was wearing a tracksuit over her usual swimsuit- she had only just discovered her illness, but she was still healthy enough to continue being a coach in between her therapy sessions. "I hear the kid's got talent- maybe that'll draw him to you guys."

"But there are lots of other people who have achievements, too." Makoto reasoned.

"No one like him, though. You gotta admit that much."

"That's true..." Byakuya mused, glancing at Haruka, who seemed to have lost interest in the Matsuoka and was now staring at the pool longingly. "Matsuoka-san did seem to recognize Haru-kun pretty well."

"See? It's the start of a beautiful friendship already!" Aoi exclaimed, grinning. "Not to mention that he has a girly name."

"_You_ have a girly name, dumbass." Byakuya deadpanned. The other two looked like they were thinking the same thing. Aoi just smacked his sister lightly upside her head for her smart mouth.

"Anyway, I gotta run now." Aoi shrugged, stretching his arms as he turned around and headed towards the pool where the older members of the swim club were training. "I'll see you kiddies later."

"See you, Aoi." Makoto waved back, before he turned towards his two companions to head off to their own training sessions. "Let's go, then."

"Do you think what Ao-nii said will come true?" Byakuya asked as they all lined up by the poolside, waiting for their turn to start their laps.

"Who knows?" Makoto shrugged. "It wouldn't be too big an expectation."

"Hm..." Byakuya mused, her eyes going once more to Haruka. He hadn't said anything at all about the whole situation- she hoped she wasn't annoying him by bringing it up. She didn't have too long to ponder upon it, though.

"You're next, Byaku-chan." Makoto pointed out as the boy who had gone in before her touched the wall.

"Right!" Byakuya started as she realized that, and yanked on her goggles before she waved quickly at her two friends. "I'll catch you two later, then!" She hopped onto the starting block and moved into the starting position, before leaping into the water to start her own lap. As she swam away, Makoto and Haruka just watched idly, waiting for their own turns to swim.

"Shion's pretty fast, huh? As I expected."

"Ah, Matsuoka-kun!" Makoto started when the Matsuoka suddenly spoke up from behind him. Rin was standing there casually, as if he had been there the whole time.

"Coincidence after coincidence. I transferred to your school and even ended up in the same swim club." Rin shrugged as he smirked.

"Well, this is a surprise. Right, Haru?" Makoto asked as he turned back to his friend. Just as he asked the question, however, Haruka dove into the water, having gotten onto the starting block when Mako had been speaking to Rin. His entry was perfect, and it was enough to catch Rin's attention immediately. The way Nanase was swimming was utterly unique- he looked nothing like that stiff boy he had spoken to earlier that day. He swam smoothly and with little to no resistance- as if he was flowing with the water instead of swimming through it. He was fast, his strokes were smooth and precise... but best of all, it was as if he wasn't even trying.

'He's really something!' Rin grinned widely as he watched the Nanase, unable to tear his eyes away. Nanase wasn't just swimming- no, it was like watching a dance.

No matter how stoic and serious Haruka may have seemed earlier, Rin really wanted to know him better now. Haruka may not be quite so friendly, but Rin wouldn't mind it. If anything else, he wanted Nanase to be a rival.

Or better yet... an ally.

* * *

><p>In all honesty, Byakuya's first impression of Nagisa was that he was really scary. Those big pink eyes just seemed to stare into her soul and pick apart every bit of her personality and truths... it was downright creepy. So how did these two individuals end up becoming close friends by the time they were both teens?<p>

Simple- a prank war.

It all started innocently- a basic joke on April Fools' when Nagisa sneaked into the girls' changing rooms and placed a toy rat in the Byakuya's locker. What he didn't expect however, was for the Shion girl to fly into a panic and rush out of the locker rooms screaming bloody murder. Apparently, said reaction hadn't been accounted for by Haruka and Makoto as well, since they had all been left staring after the normally cocky girl with looks of confusion.

When Nagisa admitted his role as instigator of the prank, the girl had seemed pretty okay with it and just laughed it off. Not long after, however, Nagisa opened his locker one fine day and ended up getting flooded with cereal. Apparently, Byakuya was a stout follower of the 'eye for an eye' principle.

Unfortunately, so was Nagisa.

Many kids made sure to bring extra swimsuits and to look carefully around corners throughout the period of the Shion-Hazuki prank war, fearing for their own safety and dignity as the two kids went all-out against each other. This was due to the occasional incident when another innocent club member would end up being drenched in cold water due to terrible timing, or find their swimsuits stuck together due to switched lockers, among other things.

After a month of constant back-and-forth pranking, the two kids finally came to a truce- mostly because Byakuya's mom had finally gotten enough of the complaints from the other kids of the swim club. To everyone's dismay, however... instead of pranking each other, they started collaborating to prank others. Apparently, after all those tricks they had pulled on each other, the two had come to understand each the other's peculiar senses of humour. This led to a most interesting alliance- so to speak. Needless to say, nobody knew how to feel.

Despite all her own strange acquaintence with the Hazuki, Byakuya definitely didn't expect that the boy would form yet another peculiar alliance with the newest member of the swim club. Which was the reason why she was currently blinking at Rin as he stood before her next to a bubbly Nagisa by the poolside.

"Matsuoka-san." Byakuya greeted, her eyes darting between him and the blonde. "I didn't know you knew Nagi-kun."

"I don't." Rin muttered in response. Judging from the deadpanned expression on his face, Byakuya was guessing that he wasn't exactly here of his own accord. Nagisa did have an unhealthy habit of swaying people to his will against their wishes...

"Matsuoka-san says he's really good at butterfly!" Nagisa explained cheerily, pulling on his goggles as he grinned. "So I want him to watch me today!"

"But don't I normally watch you?" Byakuya raised a brow. This was an odd new development.

"You suck at butterfly, Bya-kun." Nagisa retorted, shrugging as though it was common knowledge.

"I'm not that bad!" Byakuya protested, before she mumbled. "Just a bit slow..."

"You're not that slow." Rin interjected, grinning slightly. He actually didn't mind Shion all that much- she was pretty friendly compared to the Nanase boy she hung around with. "I've seen you swim before. Iwatobi SC's Shion duo are supposedly among the best at individual medleys."

"'Shion duo'?" Byakuya questioned, perplexed for a moment before a look of understanding crossed her face- although it was tinged with a slightly darker emotion. "Oh, you mean my brother and I... They're calling us that?"

"Well, you two are-"

"That's not important!" Nagisa complained, interrupting Rin before he could finish his sentence. He was standing on the starting block with his hands on his hips, insisting that he get his attention. "Matsuoka-san, Shion-kun, you can both watch me!"

"Alright, Nagi-kun. We're watching." Byakuya nodded. While Rin was a bit more irritated at having his conversation interrupted, the Shion seemed relatively unaffected by the blonde's impulsive outbursts. Perhaps she was more accustomed to it than he was. As Rin watched the Hazuki dive into- no, more like flop into, given the messy splash he made as he jumped in- he wasn't very impressed. His face fell even further when he noted the way Nagisa was swimming...

"That's his butterfly..?" Rin deadpanned, his eye twitching slightly. As he had told the Hazuki when he'd first approached him for help, Nagisa wasn't keeping his elbows high enough, and he wasn't using his hips as much as he should have been. Really, this kid...

"Hazuki-kun is pretty bad at butterfly." Byakuya admitted sheepishly. "But he tries his best."

"And he had the gall to say you sucked..." Rin muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"That's just Nagi-kun." Byakuya replied, though her sheepish laugh wasn't very convincing.

"...It looks more like he's doing grasshopper stroke instead of butterfly." Rin commented as he watched the Hazuki boy's messy stroke. There was a beat of silence, and for a moment Rin was worried that he might have gone too far and offended Byakuya by insulting her friend. However...

"Pffff... g-grasshopper?" Byakuya snorted, before she clamped her hands over her mouth. Her brown eyes were still glittering with laughter though, despite the fact that she was trying to hide it. Rin just grinned at that- relieved that the girl had a sense of humour.

"Yeah." He continued mischievously. "Don't you see how his elbows bend like that? Definitely grasshopper."

"Th-that's actually a pretty good pun." Byakuya stuttered out, still trying to restrain her laughter in case Nagisa heard her.

"Isn't it?"

"Shh! He's making the turn." Byakuya suddenly said quickly, making a face as she tried to make herself seem nonchalant again. "Keep a straight face."

"It only gets harder when you say that." Rin responded, shooting her a small smirk.

"Shh!" Byakuya hushed, struggling even further to keep her laughter from bursting out.

"How did I do, Bya-kun? Matsuoka-san?" Nagisa inquired as he emerged from the water, an eager expression on his face.

"Your elbows are too bent. Lift them higher." Rin replied simply, masking his amusement with a serious expression. That did it for Byakuya- she doubled over in laughter, laughing so hard she almost couldn't breathe.

"What's so funny?" Nagisa asked confusedly, not understanding what was so funny. Had he missed some sort of joke? Even Matsuoka looked like he was trying to mask a chuckle behind his hand.

"N-nothing, Nagi-kun." Byakuya finally responded once she'd regained her breath. "Matsuoka-san is right- your stroke needs to be practiced more. And you need to try and get your shoulders out of the water more when you move your arms."

"Huh? I don't understand..." Nagisa responded, looking utterly blank.

"Well, how do I say it..." Byakuya thought about it for a moment, before she responded. "Try to push your shoulders out of the water after the lock-and-key, and your knees should be less tense when you dolphin kick."

"I don't understand that either!"

Both Byakuya and Rin sighed internally. This was gonna be a tough day.

* * *

><p>"Man, that was a good swim!" Rin commented in a relaxed manner as he strolled out the doors of the swim club alongside Nanase's trio. Practice had ended for the day, and they were all ready to just head home and finally rest. However, as Rin continued to walk straight on ahead towards the road, Makoto called out to him.<p>

"Matsuoka-kun." Makoto's call caught Rin's attention, and he glanced back curiously at the olive-haired boy. Makoto then pointed towards the side of the swim club building. "The bicycle racks are this way."

"Oh, I'm running home." Rin explained nonchalantly. But even so, his seemingly casual response made both Makoto and Byakuya gape- even Haruka looked a bit surprised.

"Running? How many kilometers is it to your home?" Makoto asked curiously. Most kids rode their bikes to and from swim club, but running? Rin must have quite some stamina if that was the case.

"Around three kilometers, I think?" Rin pondered, gazing up into the sky as he estimated the distance in his head.

"You run three kilometers here and back?" Byakuya exclaimed, clearly impressed. She was terrible when it came to stamina on land. "That's amazing."

"It's nothing that special." Rin chuckled, somewhat embarrassed at the praise he was receiving. It really wasn't- it was just a normal thing for him. Waving at the new friends he had made- he assumed it was safe to call them that- he turned around, slowly picking up speed as he began to run. "See ya!"

"Bye!" Byakuya called back as both she and Makoto waved back at Rin. While the two of them did so, Haruka just stood behind them silently, balancing his bicycle on the ground as he stared after Rin. The Matsuoka had inadvertently raced him that day during practice, having jumped into the lane next to him when they were doing laps. Rin had kept up pretty well with him- in fact, he may have even met his match in the Matsuoka. It was his kick- Haruka noted that Rin always seemed to gain more distance than he did on the turns. Evidently, all the running to and from swim club that he did every day had contributed to the strength in his legs. Rin must have been quite dedicated to his fitness to make sure that he kept in such good shape for his swimming...

For some reason, that irked Haruka.

* * *

><p>The day Haruka Nanase almost died was one no one had seen coming. The boy had already been sick with influenza before, but had jumped into the Shiwagawa river to save Aki Yazaki's scarf anyway- an act which brought about some pretty severe consequences.<p>

When he'd woken up in the hospital after the incident, he was greeted with many concerned faces, particularly those of Makoto and Coach Shion, who wouldn't stop fussing over him. Of course, he definitely preferred getting fussed over compared to that slap Byakuya had given him for worrying her before she blubbered uncontrollably to stop herself from breaking down in tears of relief. But that was another story.

Byakuya could remember the incident clearly. She and Makoto had been riding their bikes to the Iwatobi Swim Club without Haru, since the boy sometimes took it upon himself to go to the club earlier instead of waiting for them. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, so the two hadn't been concerned. When they ran into Rin Matsuoka along the way- the maroon-haired boy liked to run to the swim club instead of riding his bike- they simply carried on that way, chatting about simple things. It was only when they reached Mutsuki bridge that they realized something was very, very wrong.

"Shion-chan! Tachibana-kun! Matsuoka-kun!" The frantic voice of Aki Yazaki reached their ears, and they all turned to see the girl, who was pointing at the river with a terrified look on her face. "Help! Please! Nanase-kun-"

"Haru-kun?!" Byakuya exclaimed in shock, before she leapt off her bike and ran towards the Yazaki girl, followed by Rin and Makoto, who both wore similar expressions of shock on their faces.

"Nanase-kun, he... he went to the riverbank to get my scarf, and he..." Aki stuttered, unable to complete her sentence as she tried to maintain her composure. The others all quickly turned in the direction she was pointing, and their hearts nearly stopped as they caught sight of the seemingly limp body of Haruka Nanase, who was nearly being dragged away by the strong currents of the river.

"Nanase!" Rin cried out, his eyes wide in shock and fear. The currents of the Shiwagawa river were no joke- if Nanase was dragged away...

Makoto wasted no time. He ran towards the riverbank immediately, followed closely by Byakuya, Aki and Rin. They all sprinted towards Haruka without sparing a minute to catch their breaths, and were only just able to reach Haruka in time before the river dragged him too far away. They had to wade into the shallow parts of the river to catch him in time, though, and they quickly heaved the unconscious boy onto the riverbank.

"Haru! Haru!" Makoto cried frantically, shaking Haruka as he tried to get the unconscious boy to wake. "Wake up! Please, wake up!"

"What do we do?" Rin asked, his voice panicked. However, he stopped himself short when he caught sight of Makoto, whose eyes were wide as he shook Haru and begged him to wake up. Not only was the boy was trembling all over as he shook his raven-haired friend, but the look in his green eyes...

He'd never seen such raw fear before. And it made him scared, too.

"Z-Zaki-chan!" Makoto called out, his panic barely concealed beneath his shaky voice. "Zaki-chan, call an ambulance! Quick!"

"I- I got it!" Aki responded quickly, fumbling to grab her phone. Dialling the emergency number, she waited impatiently for someone to pick up. "C'mon, c'mon!"

"M-Mako-kun, let me see him." Byakuya said quickly, trying to placate the boy. He was clutching Haru's shirt as he shook the unconscious boy over and over, calling his name repeatedly as if he was hoping it would be enough to wake Haru up. Byakuya was terrified. She hadn't seen such panic in her friend's face before, but she remembered the most important rule in her mother's safety lessons- and that was not to lose your head.

"But Haru-"

"Mako-kun!" Byakuya cried out firmly, cutting off the Tachibana boy as he had been about to protest. She placed both hands on Makoto's face as she forcefully turned his head to face her. Her brown eyes bore fiercely into his green ones, and he found himself stunned into silence.

"He'll be okay. But I need to make sure." Byakuya said, her voice utterly serious- nothing like how she normally sounded like. She needed to make sure Haruka was alright, but she couldn't do any of that if Makoto was in the way.

"P-please." Makoto whispered desperately, his eyes shining with tears that he wouldn't let spill over. He'd stopped shaking Haruka, and was now staring at her with wide, pleading eyes. It was almost as if he was begging her to not let Haru die.

"I won't." Byakuya answered quietly, before turning back towards Haruka. She steeled herself to ignore her pounding heart and proceeded to go through the basics. She lay her ear to his chest, listening for a heartbeat. Thankfully, she was greeted by the steady thumping of Haru's heart, and she allowed herself to give a small sigh of relief.

"His heart is beating." Byakuya affirmed, before moving to place her hand on his forehead as she leaned closer to his mouth to check for breathing. She straightened back up with a slightly worried expression. "He's breathing, but his temperature... he's burning up."

"Is he supposed to be?" Rin asked worriedly. Aki had managed to get through to the emergency call line, and had just hung up after giving all the required information.

"No, he should be freezing from falling into the water." Byakuya said, her voice starting to shake as she turned to look at Makoto. "Mako-kun, was he sick?"

"I-I don't know." Makoto stuttered out, his body still shaking. "He told me he was okay."

"I saw him earlier too!" Aki added, her voice urgent. "I thought he looked feverish, but then..."

"Fever..." Makoto muttered. Whenever he got sick, his mom would always try to keep him warm... he glanced around, and his eyes fell on the jacket Rin was wearing. "Matsuoka-kun, give me your jacket!"

"A-alright!" Rin complied quickly, shrugging off his jacket and quickly placing it over the Nanase boy's form. Haruka still remained unresponsive, his eyes shut and his breathing low.

"Haru-kun, can you hear us?" Byakuya called again, trying to see if he would respond. Nothing.

"What do we do?" Makoto asked, his body still shaking from the shock. Byakuya bit her lip and wondered if she could go through with the last step- her mom had told her it was to be used only if the victim's breathing was weak, but if she had to...

She placed her hands over Haruka's chest, pumping it three times just over his heart. Then, she placed her hands on Haru's face, tilting his chin upwards slightly. Byakuya swallowed thickly as she leaned forth, trying to pretend this was one of those practice models she used to practice her CPR technique...

"Shion?" Aki exclaimed, not quite believing what she was witnessing- she was aware of the basic CPR routine, but to think that Byakuya would actually go through with it...

Just as she'd been about to place her mouth over Haru's, the boy suddenly let out a strangled cough, turning over on his side and coughing up water. Byakuya practically sprang back like a jackknife as she exhaled loudly in relief, her body nearly turning to jelly as all the tension she'd been holding in just rushed out of her.

"Haru!" Makoto cried out, relieved to see some form of response from his friend. The Nanase boy still seemed very dazed, and his blue eyes were unfocused under his half-hooded eyelids. The sound of sirens greeted the group's ears just then, and Rin exclaimed in relief.

"The ambulance is here!"

"Hurry, please!" Aki called out, waving her arms to catch the paramedics' attention. Haruka's eyes fell shut again just then- his energy reserves running completely dry and losing consciousness once more.

"Just hang in there, Haru. Just a bit more. Haru..." Makoto repeated over and over again, clutching onto Haruka's shirt. It reminded Byakuya all too much of that funeral procession all those years ago, and how Makoto had huddled behind her and Haruka as he'd clung to their shirts, the same terrified look in his eye.

Now, Byakuya wasn't the smartest academic-wise, but she was a lot quicker than most would expect. Makoto's occasional fearful glances at the water of the pool didn't escape her notice, nor the look that crossed his face sometimes when he looked out at the ocean, and especially not the way he looked now as he called out to Haruka over and over. She'd even talked to Haruka about Mako once, asking if he knew just what was wrong, but Haruka didn't have any concrete answers either.

They both knew Makoto was scared. But it wasn't until more than a week after Haruka's brush with death that Makoto told both her and Haru the truth behind his phobia.

Reaching out to grasp Makoto's trembling hand as well, Byakuya took a shaky breath to try and maintain her composure. She was shivering a bit from the coldness of her drenched shirt, but she tried to stop her trembling as she held Makoto's hand. She hoped that he could draw some semblance of calmness from her as well, even though she herself felt like crying from all this tension and fear.

"You're gonna be alright." Byakuya whispered, clutching Makoto's hand even tighter as she stared at Haruka's unconscious face. She wasn't speaking just to Haruka, but Makoto as well. "You're gonna be alright, everything will be alright..."

* * *

><p>"Well then, I'll drive you kids back." Aoi said nonchalantly as he, his mom, his sister and her two friends- Rin and Makoto- stepped out of the hospital. Visiting hours weren't over yet, but as much as they wanted to stay by the Nanase's side, they had to leave- Mikasa had called up both Rin and Makoto's folks to inform them that she would send them back before it got too late. As they all got into the car in a solemn silence, Aoi shot a glance back at the Matsuoka seated in the back. "Hey, Sharky. You live near the Kotsuzumi area, right?"<p>

"Ah. Yeah." Rin blinked for a moment, nodding his head slowly in affirmation. The whole incident of the day was still stuck in his mind, and there was something that still kept bugging him...

"You all were very brave today; but you must be tired. You all try to get a good night's sleep tonight, alright?" Mikasa added as well, smiling at the three exhausted children. None of them really responded, though they returned Mikasa's smile with small, tight ones of their own. It had been quite a draining day- both physically and emotionally.

The drive to Rin's home continued on in relative silence, all left to wander in their own thoughts for a while. No one really knew what else to say- save for one particular redhead, who couldn't get something off his mind...

"…Tachibana." Rin called out, his voice feeling hoarse from having only used it a couple of times in the past few hours. The Tachibana looked back at him as he'd said that, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What is it, Matsuoka-kun?" Makoto asked, tilting his head at the boy.

"I…" Rin looked like he wanted to continue, but his voice seemed to die in his throat again, as if he couldn't bring himself to speak. There was fear in his eyes, and they hesitantly darted from Makoto, to Byakuya, to anywhere else. He was trying so hard to speak, and yet...

"Hm?" Makoto prompted, wondering what had Rin so hesitant. After a few more beatd of silence, Rin finally managed to let the words fall from his lips.

"I was seriously scared." Rin admitted quietly, his fists clenching in his lap. "I was so scared that I couldn't even figure out what to do." It was like his body couldn't function properly- even now. He had to consciously remind himself to breathe, to keep himself working correctly. He just couldn't get that image out of his head...

"It's going to be okay. They said it's just ordinary influenza. It hasn't turned into pneumonia, so he'll get better soon." Makoto reassured, his voice kind. However, Rin just bit his lip again, his eyes darting to those of the silent Byakuya's. Upon catching her eye and seeing the same worry he was feeling reflected in her expression, Rin knew that it wasn't just him that was thinking the same thing...

"No, not about Nanase. About you, Tachibana." Rin corrected, his voice solemn as he met Makoto's gaze again.

"What?" Makoto started.

"When we pulled Nanase out of the river, you were shaking, weren't you?" Rin elaborated, carefully watching Makoto's expression. He had no doubt- Makoto had been shaking all over; so much his teeth had been chattering. Granted, Rin had been afraid when he'd seen Haruka in such a weak state, but the look in Makoto's eyes...

"Was I?" Makoto wondered, looking up as he tried to remember. "It feels like I was dreaming, so I can't remember very well."

'Is that true?' Rin wondered. Makoto looked just like he always did, with his wide green eyes and that soft smile on his face that never seemed to disappear.

"This where you live, Sharky?" Aoi asked all of a sudden, the car slowing to a stop. Much to Rin's surprise, he saw that they had stopped in front of the compound where he lived- how much time had passed without him noticing?

"Oh, yeah." Rin mumbled out, opening the car door in a slight daze. "Thank you for the ride, Aoi-san. Mikasa-obasan."

"It was no problem." Mikasa replied graciously, smiling at her student. Byakuya offered Rin a slight incline of her head in farewell, while Makoto smiled at the boy and waved.

"See you." Makoto called out, his gentle expression ever the same. He looked nothing like he had earlier- if Rin didn't know any better, he'd almost think he had imagined the whole thing...

Almost.

"Yeah." Rin muttered in response, getting out of the car without returning the wave. As soon as the door shut and drove off, Rin let out a long, tired exhale of breath. He wondered if he had been worried over nothing about Makoto, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to believe that. But even so, there was nothing more he could do.

Rin just stared after the car as it drove off into the evening, unsure of what to think. He just hoped he could get a peaceful sleep after this.

...

For a few moments after Rin had been dropped off, everything was silent in the car, save for the sound of wind blowing through the air conditioner. No one uttered a word, and Makoto just continued to wear that gentle expression on his face as he stared ahead. Byakuya- now alone in the back seat with him- couldn't tear her eyes away from her friend as she watched him carefully... was it just her, or were his hands starting to tremble?

All that was solved in a matter of seconds, though, the moment Mikasa- without turning around- uttered a single sentence.

"Makoto-kun, it's alright now." Mikasa said gently, glancing back at the boy via her rearview mirror.

At those words, all the strength and resistance that Makoto had been using to hold back his emotions just broke, finally snapping under all the pressure. No matter how he tried to fight it off, his small body started shaking, the tears sliding silently down his face. He grabbed his shoulders tightly and tried to stop the trembling, but it was of no use- he just couldn't help but give in to the fear he'd been restraining; the mask that he used to convince everyone that he was alright finally coming off. He cried soundlessly- even when the tears had finally come, he still forced himself to be strong and refused to let himself utter a peep as he tried valiantly to force them back.

To his surprise, he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him, and he found himself being pulled up against Byakuya as she held him close. The girl's voice was quiet and gentle as she murmured comfortingly to him, brushing his hair back comfortingly with her free hand. Upon her embrace, the Tachibana boy finally uttered a small, choked sob, clinging onto the girl as he wept.

"It's okay." Byakuya whispered kindly as she stroked his head, struggling to keep her voice from shaking as well. "You're okay, I promise. I won't let anything hurt you. Everything's okay..."

Byakuya repeated that mantra over and over again, the tears stinging her own eyes as she held Makoto, though she didn't allow herself to break as she comforted him. The olive-haired boy gratefully clung to the Shion girl, trembling uncontrollably as the tears came in an endless torrent. The fear had finally overtaken him, and he was just grateful to have someone there to be his rock of support. He was just so scared- so unbelievably scared...

Mikasa spared the two children another glance through the mirror once again, watching as her daughter hugged the Tachibana boy and tried to soothe him. For once, Aoi was quiet as well as he drove on, not even looking back at the two younger kids while he pretended not to notice anything. He and his mother shared a glance- a knowing one that told the other that it was indeed alright to let the youngest Shion handle this on her own.

As Byakuya vigilantly consoled her childhood friend, she made a quiet oath to herself that day. No matter what, she was going to do all that she could to make sure Makoto never cried again.

* * *

><p>"Are they still sick?" Byakuya asked as she walked up to Makoto, who was peering worriedly into his newly-cleaned fishbowl. It had been a week after Haruka's accident, and things were almost completely normal again after he was released from the hospital.<p>

Makoto had recently started changing the water in his fish bowl every day, since his pet fish had gotten sick. He made sure to put medicine in the water to help them get better-the fish meant a lot to him, and he was hoped dearly that they would recover. For some reason or other, though, they still had these white spots on them, indicating that they weren't getting any better- much to Makoto's distress.

"Yeah." Makoto responded despondently. "I've been putting in medicine and cleaning the tank every day, but still..." He trailed off, unable to voice his thoughts. He didn't know what else he could do...

"Hey, don't make that kind of face." Byakuya reprimanded, pouting at Makoto. In a sudden movement that caught him off guard, the Shion girl reached forth and pulled his cheeks upwards, stretching his face into a smile. She gave a satisfied smirk at that. "See? A happy Mako-kun looks so much better!"

"H-hey, what are you doing?" Makoto asked confusedly, his words barely audible as he spoke through his stretched mouth. He reached up and started tugging at Byakuya's hands, trying to pry them off his face.

"Your face is so sad- it's making me sad too!" Byakuya stated simply, not releasing Makoto's cheeks. "C'mon, smileee~"

"Alright, alright!" Makoto laughed out, making Byakuya finally drop her hands as he rubbed his sore cheeks. "They hurt."

"Sorry." Byakuya replied apologetically, before continuing in a lighter tone. "But hey, at least you laughed! I've been waiting for days to hear that laugh!"

Makoto started at those words- he hadn't even realized it, but she was right. It had been days since he'd last laughed...

"Now," Byakuya continued, shooting him a more serious look. "You have to promise me you won't ever keep these kind of things from me again, okay? I don't ever want to see you cry again and not know why." She was referring to the incident when she had comforted him in the car after they had sent Rin home last week. Even though Makoto hadn't explained anything about the breakdown, she was still smart enough to connect several of the dots- especially since she and Haru already had their earlier suspicions.

"Byaku-chan..." Makoto trailed off, staring at the girl in surprise. She sounded so concerned about him...

"I dunno why you're scared, or how it happened," Byakuya admitted, idly scuffing her feet on the ground as she spoke, though she met Makoto's gaze firmly. "But no matter what it is, I won't let you fight it alone. If there's anything or anyone that wants to get you, they're gonna have to go through me, first!"

For a moment, Makoto just remained stunned, blinking at the Shion as if he wasn't sure he was hearing correctly. But not long after, his lips twitched into a smile, and he gave a small laugh.

"...Thank you, Byaku-chan." Makoto thanked gratefully, smiling at the girl. At their young age, Byakuya stood about 5 centimetres taller than him, and her features were more mature. Back then, Makoto would never have guessed that in just another year, he would soon tower over the upbeat, expressive girl.

"Don't mention it!" Byakuya responded cheerily, before she pointed at him reprimandingly. "Remember what I said, alright? We'll get through this together! Team Byakuya and Mako-kun!" As she declared this, she crossed her arms in a peculiar fashion- something they had learned at swim club from her mom. "Super fusion..."

"Doppelganger!" Makoto finished enthusiastically, crossing his arms in the same pattern before he pumped his fists in the air with his arms crossed. Byakuya mimicked his movements- only her arms went down- before she moved her palms so they faced upwards and brought her hands up to meet Makoto's halfway in double a high five. The high five was repeated again- only with Makoto's hands on the bottom as she smacked her own palms onto his from above- and then they both fist-bumped to declare the end of the action. Byakuya honestly thought the pattern was peculiar, but if it would cheer Mako up, she was willing to endure it.

"That's more like it!" Byakuya chirped, before grabbing Makoto's hands and tugging him towards the front door. "Now c'mon! Haru-kun and the others are waiting- so keep that smile on your face!"

"Okay!" Makoto replied, laughing along with the Shion girl as they raced to get their bikes.

As the two of them conversed while they cycled to the swim club, Makoto couldn't help but give a warm smile as he looked at Byakuya's grinning face. Her bright mood was infectious, and he couldn't help but be extremely grateful for her presence. Granted, Haruka was still Makoto's best friend, but at the same time, Byakuya was a great friend to him in her own way. She was different from Haruka in so many ways, and that somehow seemed to create a balance for the Tachibana boy. Byakuya always seemed to be picking him up whenever he was feeling down, and he wished he could be there for her in the same way.

That day, Makoto silently swore that he would do whatever it took to become stronger, so that he would be able to protect her as well. It was a promise- one that he would make sure to keep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Long chapter ahoy! Much thanks goes to my pseudo beta-reader for assisting me in correcting the mistakes I made due to the blurry state I was in when writing the flashbacks 8'D<br>Also, I'm glad to see that ya'll enjoyed that last chapter! To be honest, I originally planned to postpone the kiss until the very end, haha! Guess the fear of getting assassinated in my sleep pushed me into doing so, haha! On yet another note; HOORAY FOR SEASON 2 YEEHAW. IT'LL SOON BE TIME TO DROWN IN ALL OUR EMOCEANS AND FREELINGS AGAIN 8DD  
><strong>

**Thanks ever so much to Savage Kill, AmIValid, Shizuka Kitsune, MyFriendsAreMyPower, Mazgrl98, maggikarps, theshrewdravenclaw, trunksgf96, that one Guest reviewer **(In response to your review: Awww you're too kind- I'm blushing, haha! I'm glad to see that you like the story, and that you find the characterization okay! Many apologies for not being able to update more often- I would do so if I could, but alas, life is cruel that way. Thanks so much for taking the time to review!)** KarutaPlayer96, krisdoki, Crimson Ribbon, uzumito, Pandasia13 and randompersoneatingpie (loving that username btw xD) for all your support! (Do forgive me for putting all your names together instead of thanking all of ya'll individually- it's gotten harder to keep track of who did what now that I'm writing two fics at the same time OTL. But just know that I really do appreciate all of the support ya'll have given me! Stay cool, you guys!)**


	46. Chapter 46

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

Brown eyes followed the leaves falling off the trees outside the Iwatobi Elementary School, a mild melancholy hidden beneath the surface of Byakuya's nonchalant expression. Art class was normally something that caught her interest- since she enjoyed throwing paint on everything- but this time, she just wasn't feeling it. Heck, she hadn't been able to feel anything almost the whole day. She had barely gotten any sleep- not since she'd overheard the conversation between her brother and mother just a couple of days ago...

"Each team must design the kind of garden you will make, and the kind of flowers you will plant." The teacher's voice finally managed to break through Byakuya's listless thoughts, prompting the girl to listen to what she was saying. "And then, you need to draw an illustration."

"Okay!" Everyone responded, heeding the teacher's orders. The class had decided to plant a flower bed around the sakura tree next to the pool as their last contribution to the school before graduation, and most were eager to do their best for this project. However, Byakuya wasn't one of them. Not only had she been among the few students who hadn't been too eager about the project in the first place, but her mind just kept wandering back to her mother and her brother...

_"What are we gonna do, mom?" Aoi asked, his voice almost desperate. Byakuya hid at the top of the stairs as she listened in on the conversation- she had intended on going to get a glass of water, but that venture had stopped soon enough when she heard her brother and mother's voices in the hall. As far as they knew, she was fast asleep since it was past her bedtime._

_"You have to be strong, Aoi." Mikasa responded sadly, though her voice was firm. "I know- it's such a heavy burden to leave on your shoulders, and you're so young."_

_"There's still hope, right?" Aoi asked again, desperately grasping at straws now. "There are other treatments available..."_

_"I can't promise anything, dear." Mikasa's voice responded quietly. "I'm sorry. I wish I could stay by your side forever, but..."_

_There wasn't much conversation after that- just the sound of Aoi's choked sobs and Mikasa's soft voice as she comforted him. Byakuya just curled up into a ball in her spot at the top of the stairs fearfully, and hugged her knees close to her chest. She realized what this meant..._

"Shion. Hey, Shion!"

"Huh?" Byakuya started when she heard someone calling her name, and she looked up, still in a slight daze. Rin was frowning at her, his expression almost exasperated.

"'Bout time you replied." He huffed. "I was asking if you could pass me the blue crayon."

"Ah. Alright." Byakuya mumbled in response, passing Rin the crayon he wanted. The boy nodded in satisfaction, and as he began to colour in his illustration, he grinned while he spoke to Haruka.

"Hey, Nanase. Did you reconsider?" He asked, eagerly waiting for Haru's answer.

"Reconsider what?" Haruka responded monotonously. He knew what Rin was talking about, but he didn't care- he just hoped Rin got the message.

"Joining a medley relay. You interested in teaming up for the next tournament?" Rin elaborated. Haruka deduced that the boy was either really dense or really persistent.

"I said that I only swim free." Haruka replied, his calm voice beginning to lose a bit of its coolness. Byakuya wasn't really listening to the conversation going on, but something Haruka had said caught her attention.

_'Free...'_

Byakuya could barely comprehend what she was sketching on her sheet of paper, and by the time she noticed what she was doing, she realized that she hadn't actually drawn anything- she'd written out words, instead.

Free. Hope. Promises. All the words that had stuck in her head from all the conversations she had heard around her. They were such big words, even though they sounded so simple... what did it take to actually achieve these things?

"You're so stubborn, Nanase." Rin sighed at Haruka's response, but continued anyway. "Fine, you can swim free. But that means Tachibana has to swim back or breast." As Rin mulled over all this, he failed to notice that Haruka had stopped drawing, and was clenching his pencil in his fist tightly. "So we'll need one more person to-"

"I said that I only swim free, so don't include me in your relay!" Haruka retorted, his tone almost angry. Rin started at the boy's fierce expression, but his own stubbornness kicked in as well, and he met Haruka's glare evenly.

"I said you can do free!" Rin shouted, slapping his fists down on the table. That was a mistake however, as all the kids were looking at him now- even Shion had snapped out of her dreamlike state for a moment and was staring at him in puzzlement. Oh boy...

"Uh, by 'free', I mean..." Rin explained slowly, standing up as he tried to save face. His mind reeled as he tried to think up a response, his eyes darting everywhere until they fell upon Shion's paper. That gave him an idea, and he grinned as he continued his explanation, throwing his arms out for emphasis. "I'm saying we should all write our own messages on the bricks around the garden! We'll do it our own way- be free!"

There was a moment of silence as the class considered what Rin was saying, and the boy's heart was pounding in expectation. Much to his relief, the class seemed really enthusiastic about the idea, and praised him for his 'creativity'.

"That's a great idea!"

"Yeah!"

"Lovely!"

"Nice job, Matsuoka!"

Rin laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, not quite knowing what to say. He couldn't believe they had actually bought that, and apparently, neither could Haruka. The Nanase looked away in exasperation, exhaling shortly through his nose as he began colouring in his drawing again. Makoto just smiled and shook his head slightly- really, despite his cool attitude, Haruka was actually pretty emotive on the inside.

"Thanks, Shion." Makoto heard Rin say to Byakuya as he sat down, grinning nervously at the girl as he pointed at her paper. "Your uh, drawing, gave me an idea."

"Oh. I see." Byakuya blinked for a moment, before she shot Rin a smile. "It wasn't a problem."

Makoto observed the interaction between his two friends curiously, a small frown on his face. There was something different about the way Byakuya was acting- even her smile seemed a bit off. She had been that way for a while now, and Makoto was getting worried. He'd thought it was just a passing thing, but she didn't seem to be getting any better.

Unconsciously, his eyes went to the sheet of paper she had on her desk, wondering what Rin was talking about. There were numerous, messy scribbles on the paper- as if Byakuya had written something out but had scribbled over it right after. However, there was one word that she hadn't shaded out yet- a word that only increased Makoto's confusion regarding his friend's current state of mind...

_'Forever.'_

* * *

><p>As Rin dove into the pool and propelled himself through the water for one of his timed laps, his friends watched on in awe- even after they'd known him for so long, his kick still seemed awesome. The strength he put into his legs put him far ahead of most others in terms of speed, and it was very impressive.<p>

"Matsuoka-kun's kick is really powerful!" Makoto praised as he watched Rin swim through the water. Despite how aggressive his style seemed, it held a smooth grace to it- like a blade slicing through the air. Or maybe a predatory sea creature...

"So fast, so fast!" Nagisa added, nearly bouncing in enthusiasm. He greatly admired the older boy's swimming technique- almost as much as he admired Haruka. Speaking of which...

"Must be all that running he does." Byakuya commented idly to Haruka as he stood next to her in silence. The boy just remained quiet as he stared at the Matsuoka boy, a myriad of emotions- mostly frustration and a hint of resentment- swirling beneath the passivity of his ocean-blue eyes. Barely a few seconds later, the Nanase stalked off, heading towards the locker rooms. Practice was already over, so it wasn't like he had much reason to stay and watch Rin anyway.

As the Nanase left the poolside, Byakuya just stared after him, a hint of disappointment in her expression. Haruka was always doing this- just wandering off on his own and attending to his own devices. She wished he wouldn't be so distant- even if she knew that was just the way he was, it still hurt a bit to be distanced like that.

"Haru-kun..."

* * *

><p>As Haruka, Makoto, Byakuya and Nagisa headed out of the swim club, Haruka immediately headed towards the gates, prompting Makoto to call out to him.<p>

"Where are you going, Haru?" Makoto pointed in the direction of the bicycle racks. "Our bicycles are that way."

"I'm running home." Haruka responded simply. That startled Makoto slightly- what was this about all of a sudden? Even Byakuya seemed a bit taken aback; theirs was a routine they had fallen into, and to have Haru break away from it all of a sudden was unforeseen. Of course, it didn't seem that way to Nagisa, whose eyes glittered as he heard Haruka say that.

"So cool, Nanase-kun!" Nagisa enthused, impressed at Haruka's dedication- Nanase was practically his idol. He hopped up to Haruka, jogging on the spot as he asked. "Hey, can I run with you?"

For a moment, Haruka contemplated saying no, but figured that wouldn't accomplish anything. So instead, he complied.

"If you can keep up." He replied shortly. And then he ran out the gates, not waiting for a response. Nagisa gave a small cheer and followed after the Nanase, not hesitating for even a second.

"Wait, Haru! Your bicycle..." Makoto trailed off, realizing the futility of his exclamation. Haruka had his mind set on running home, and he wasn't turning around anytime soon. Makoto had a pretty good feeling he knew what all this was about...

"He's really passionate about swimming, huh?" Byakuya mused out loud. Apparently, the both of them were headed along the same train of thought. Haruka was clearly miffed that Rin- his rival of sorts- could possibly be better at swimming than he was simply because of a better kick. It wasn't because he wanted to win; it was just that he didn't like the idea that someone could be better in the water than he was. It was just his own way of dealing with competition.

"That's Haru for you." Makoto responded sheepishly, scratching his cheek awkwardly. Byakuya just shrugged and shot him a light grin, before continuing towards the bicycle racks.

"C'mon, I'll help you push his bike back home." Byakuya commented idly. As she got onto her own bicycle and grabbed one of the handles of Haruka's, she waited patiently for Makoto to do the same with the other side. However, Makoto hesitated for a moment as he got onto his own bike, and he shot Byakuya a nervous glance.

"Hey, Byaku-chan?" He called hesitantly. Byakuya tilted her head upon his call.

"Hm? What's up?" She inquired. Makoto watched her expression carefully as he continued, his tone cautious.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Byakuya replied, though she seemed to tense up ever so slightly. While Makoto caught the defensive action, he seemed to understand that Byakuya wouldn't appreciate it if he pried.

"...No. Never mind- it's nothing." Makoto waved it off, grabbing hold of the handle of Haruka's bike on his side. Byakuya seemed a bit surprised that he had brushed it off just like that, but was ultimately thankful for it.

"If you say so." She shrugged. Upon Makoto's signal, they both pushed their feet off the ground and onto their pedals, cycling along the path leading back to their homes as they pulled Haruka's bike along between the two of them.

As they went on their way, Makoto shot another look out of the corner of his eye at Byakuya- she was just cycling along, her expression casual. While this normally wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, Makoto knew better. There was something significantly different about the girl's attitude these past few days- something worrisome that he'd finally managed to put his finger on.

And that was that he hadn't heard Byakuya laugh in over a week.

* * *

><p>"Mom?" Byakuya called quietly as she knocked softly on her mother's bedroom door. Her mother looked up from the papers she had been going through- she looked exhausted. It had been two weeks since her mom had finally caved in to the lack of energy that her disease caused and stopped her job as a coach, taking a temporary break until she got better. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, and she had grown a lot skinnier, but upon seeing her daughter hesitantly standing in the doorway, her expression softened as she smiled gently.<p>

"What is it, sweetheart?" Mikasa asked kindly, gesturing for Byakuya to come closer. The twelve year-old took a few slow steps into the room, but still stopped quite some distance away from the bed her mother was sitting on- something that didn't escape Mikasa's notice, though she made no indication that she had.

"I'm going over to Haru-kun's place now." Byakuya explained, twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands as she did so.

"Oh, is that so?" Mikasa responded, getting up- painfully slowly- from the bed. She walked up to her daughter and placed a frail hand on her shoulder, before planting a kiss on Byakuya's head. "Alright then, be back soon."

"I will." Byakuya nodded, smiling up at her mother. She then turned and skipped out of the room, grinning as she waved back at her mom. "See you!"

Before she closed the front door behind her, Byakuya paused briefly, shooting a glance at the newest trophy that sat in the glass cupboard. She had just won it just yesterday in a competition exclusively for individual medleys- first place, in fact. The metal of the trophy reflected some of the sunlight pouring in from the windows, glinting almost mockingly at her. The Shion girl then forced herself to look away as she finally stepped out of her house, shutting the door behind her.

And then, she ran.

She ran so fast that it felt like everything was rushing past her in a blur, but she could barely feel the exhaustion as she pushed her feet to move even quicker. Her breathing was fast and heavy as she ran farther, trying to reach her destination as fast as she could. She ran and ran, not stopping or slowing for even a moment until she reached the rotunda up on the hill near her house, nearly collapsing onto the sealed-off well beneath the roof of the rotunda as she panted.

She only registered the fact that tears were running down her face and that she was trembling after she had been sitting there for several minutes- how long had it been going on? When she sat down? Or had it started when she was running but she hadn't noticed? She didn't know, and honestly, she didn't care. She just let herself sob her eyes out, knowing that for now at least, she was alone where no one could see her cry.

She didn't know how long she sat there, whether it was minutes or hours- just allowing herself to wallow in all the misery and hopelessness she was feeling. But when she finally pulled herself together- and allowed enough tine for her swollen eyes to return to normal- she pushed herself to her feet, taking a deep breath before she forced a cheerful smile to her face. She kept that bright expression on her face as she made her way to Haru's place, hoping that no one would suspect anything. She had promised to meet up with her two pals to try out that new game Mako had gotten, after all- hopefully her lateness wouldn't be too peculiar. If she got lucky, she might even be able to talk Haru or Mako into letting her sleep over at their place, too...

She didn't want to go back to her house- heck, she didn't want to even be there. Not when she had to watch her mother fading away right before her very eyes. She wasn't that strong- there was no way she could be.

So she would do the only thing that she _could_ do- she would run. Far away from the house that had lost all its warmth- far away from the place she once thought of as her home.

...

Back down in the housing area, Makoto Tachibana stood with his back pressed against a wall, his expression solemn. He hadn't meant to stay there for so long, but when he'd seen Byakuya rushing up the stairs of the compound, he had intended on jumping out and giving her a light scare as a joke. However, when she'd approached, Makoto had noticed with a start that Byakuya's eyes were glistening, and she looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. That had been enough to stun him into immobilization- he'd never seen the Shion girl look so... fragile.

_'Byaku-chan... why didn't you ask for help?'_

* * *

><p>"Hey, Matsuoka-kun." Nagisa Hazuki rocked back and forth on his heels as he addressed Rin in the locker rooms, trying to get his attention. Haruka was standing some distance away as well, tucking his shirt into his locker while Nagisa continued to speak to Rin. "Are you swimming in a relay with Nanase-kun and Tachibana-kun?"<p>

"That's the plan." Rin nodded, his eyes flickering briefly over to Haruka for a moment before he continued. "I'm still waiting for a response, though."

"Let me join you, then!" Nagisa volunteered immediately, jumping on the opportunity. Rin just tutted as he heard that, waving his hand as he turned away smugly.

"No way- we're serious about this." Rin replied, his voice somewhat taunting as he placed his hands on his hips and glanced in the other direction.

"I'm serious, too! I'm really fast!" Nagisa clutched desperately onto Rin's arm, begging to be given a chance. "Please? Pretty please?"

"Mm... Fine." Rin complied after a moment of thought- though he would admit that he prolonged the silence in a mischievous attempt to stretch Nagisa's patience. While the idea was plausible, he did have to make sure Nagisa had the dkill necessary to join their team. "You can join if you place first in the next breaststroke time trial."

"Really?!" Nagisa exclaimed joyfully, his face lighting up immediately at the prospect. The blonde then spun towards Haruka, who also seemed a bit surprised that Rin had allowed Nagisa to join on such conditions. "Nanase-kun, did you hear that? I'm gonna work real hard!"

"Practice is about to start." Haruka responded simply, his initial surprise fading. It didn't matter what Rin chose to do regarding the team- he couldn't care less.

"Okay! Wait for me!" Nagisa replied immediately, dashing after the Nanase. He was just too happy to be given a chance to be allowed onto the team, and there was no way he would let this chance slip by.

As the two boys left the changing rooms, Rin just stared after them, his expression unreadable.

* * *

><p>"Hey, why is Nanase so obsessed with free?" Rin asked idly as he, Makoto and Byakuya all sat at the foot of the stairs leading up to the Misagozaki Shrine. They had come here after swim practice that day to offer a few prayers, and they were just resting now that it was done with. Haruka had headed home after practice- on foot, as he had recently acquired the habit of doing so- so it was just the three of them. "He always says he only swims free..."<p>

As Rin said this, he tossed a rock at the can he had set up several feet in front of him, attempting to knock it down. It missed however, and he clicked his tongue in irritation. He wasn't so much annoyed at the can as he was with Nanase, however...

"I don't think it's because Haru likes to swim free." Makoto responded after thinking over Rin's question for a while. It was quite a good question really- even he never really thought too much on it before.

"Why does he say it, then?" Rin asked in exasperation. The Nanase was such a puzzle- it was almost annoying.

"Don't look at me." Byakuya shrugged. She, too, attempted to throw a rock at the can. When she missed as well, she groaned and leaned back against the step behind her.

"I've never asked him, but I think being in water feels the most natural to Haru." Makoto elaborated further. "So that's why he wants to swim free."

"I don't get it." Rin huffed, finally giving up at knocking down the can. He stood up and ran a few steps, before throwing the rock in his grip off into the distance. He just stood there for a few moments as he gazed at the setting sun, his expression distant. All he wanted was to swim in a relay and yet... it was so hard. "Is there a way to get Nanase to swim in the relay?"

"And why are you so obsessed with swimming in a relay?" Makoto inquired curiously. That was one question he was curious of the answer to as well, though it was a subtle attempt at changing the subject.

"Me?" Rin started, clearly not expecting that question. "I..." he trailed off, not quite sure what to say. There was just so much to tell, and even then... he wasn't quite sure if he wanted them to know. He didn't know if they'd find it ridiculous if he confided in them about his deceased father and his dream...

In the end, he just gave a short chuckle and brushed it off, turning back to face the sunset as he responded. "Well, I have my reasons."

That seemed to puzzle Makoto even further, but he didn't push Rin into fessing up. It was his own story to tell, after all. The pause stretched on for a while longer, until Byakuya broke the silence.

"...Haru-kun is lucky." She muttered.

"Hm?" Both the boys turned their attentions to her as she said that, wondering what the reasoning behind that statement was.

"To not have a reason to swim- to just want to enjoy the water. He's lucky." Byakuya explained, her answer curt. It was evident that something about that irked her somewhat, and Rin couldn't help but sympathize. He himself couldn't help but envy Haruka's talent, and yet the boy himself didn't seem to care about utilizing them to his fullest. Rin had to train two- no, three times as hard as Haruka did to reach his level, but the Nanase just seemed to take his skills for granted.

"...I think I can sorta agree with that, Shion." Rin muttered in agreement, scuffing his foot on the ground. Damn that Nanase for being so complicated...

"Hey, you're not supposed to look so sad." Makoto's voice said suddenly as he addressed Byakuya. He reached out and flicked her nose, shooting her a lighthearted smile when she glanced back at him in annoyance. "Go on- smile."

"...Fine." Byakuya sighed after a few beats of silence, though her lips twitched upwards into a small smile. "But only because you asked."

"I'm glad." Makoto responded, delighted to have coaxed a smile out of her. As Rin observed the two of them interacting, a thought occurred to him just then, and a sly smirk crossed his face.

"You know, you two are awfully close." Rin jested lightly as he raised a teasing eyebrow at his two friends. "Don't you think that's pretty romantic?"

"Ehhh?!" Both the kids blanched at his insinuation, before they shook their heads violently. "No way!"

"Mako-kun is shorter than I am!" Byakuya retorted, looking utterly repulsed at the idea.

"Byaku-chan's brother would kill me!" Makoto added fearfully. He looked just as apprehensive about Rin's suggestion as Byakuya was- though Rin himself was just laughing his head off at them.

"Alright, alright!" Rin managed to cough out in between his laughter. He shot the two kids a wink as he did so, continuing in a sing-song voice. "If you say so~"

"There's no way!" They both exclaimed in unison once more, prompting Rin to burst into laughter once again. Really, these guys had some of the best reactions when goaded. He just continued to tease his two friends with their friendly banter, forgetting all about a certain, frustrating Nanase as he allowed himself to forget his worries- even if for a little while.

* * *

><p>"Byaku-chan." Makoto called out to Byakuya as he walked her up to her front door, his tone solemn.<p>

"Hm? What is it?" Byakuya responded as she turned around. Makoto had been pretty quiet as they'd made their way back from the shrine, so she was a bit surprised that he had called out to her now. The boy remained silent for a moment longer, before he looked up and met her gaze again.

"You made me promise to never keep secrets from you again." Makoto reminded, his normally kind expression serious. "Now, I want you to do the same."

"Huh?" Byakuya blinked in confusion. What was he talking about? As if in response to her silent question, Makoto reached up and patted Byakuya's head, smiling softly as he met her perplexed gaze.

"I don't like seeing you cry either, Byaku-chan." Makoto responded quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. The image of the girl as she rushed past him, that pained expression on her face... he couldn't get it out of his mind. And he never wanted to see it again.

"Mako-kun..." Byakuya trailed off, stunned. Judging from his words, she realized that he must have seen her that day when she ran up to the hill. Makoto's touch was warm and gentle, and it made her want to cry again- she remembered how her mother patted her head in the same way, and how her hand used to feel like this. Now, her touch was almost... lifeless. Byakuya swallowed hard, forcing a shaky smile to her face as she looked back up at the Tachibana. "I promise."

"No, that's not good enough." Makoto tutted, before he retracted his hand and held out his pinky instead. "You have to pinky swear on it."

Byakuya seemed surprised at what he was proposing, but when she saw the playful smile on Makoto's face, a chuckle fell from her lips. That made Makoto's smile widen- he had finally managed to make her laugh again. Byakuya continued to smile as she hooked her pinky through his, agreeing to the promise. "Pinky swear!"

The two had another laugh at the gesture they were making, before they finally unhooked their pinkies once more. When they did, Makoto's expression softened, and he gently reminded Byakuya once more.

"Remember- you promised me, okay? So you can't break it."

"I won't, I won't!" Byakuya responded, a playfully exasperated tone in her voice. "Stop worrying so much! You'll get grey hair- look, I see some already!"

"Eh? Grey hair?" Makoto started, and immediately reached up to touch his head. He had grey hair? That couldn't be! He was just twelve! Byakuya just laughed as they boy's pupils moved up as high as possible- a futile effort to get a glimpse of his hair.

"Just kidding~" Byakuya sang playfully, flicking Makoto's forehead in a joking manner. Before he had time to respond, Byakuya quickly opened the door to her house and dashed inside, sneaking one last grin at him. "Good night, Makoto!" She laughed, before she shut the door.

Makoto stared at the door for a moment, not quite sure if he had heard correctly. Byakuya always added a suffix to the end of his name, never addressing him without one even once. Yet, when she'd wished him good night... that was the first time she'd ever called his name without a title. For some reason, that made Makoto really happy- perhaps that meant that Byakuya was getting more comfortable around him... he would like it that way.

"Good night... Byakuya."

* * *

><p>Byakuya blew out her breath in a long exhale as she walked out of the school building during recess, wondering idly when she would be able to see her breath coming out in puffs of white smoke again. Winter wasn't her favourite season- due to the freezing cold- but she was alright with it. She liked these autumn days best, though- the days weren't too cold or too hot, but the leaves everywhere could be a pain in the butt. As she approached the huge sakura tree, she noticed with a start that someone was already there- a familiar raven-haired boy who was just staring up at the tree, his expression passive.<p>

"Hey, Haru-kun." Byakuya greeted as she walked up to the boy, stopping next to him as she, too, looked up at the tree. "You're out here too, huh? Should have guessed."

Haruka just gave a small nod in acknowledgement, not bothering or needing to respond verbally. The two of them just gazed silently up at the sakura tree for a long moment, before Byakuya finally spoke up.

"I know you've probably heard this a lot already, Haru-kun... but I'd really like to see you swimming with Mako, Nagi-kun and Matsuoka-kun in a relay." She said quietly, her voice low. Haruka felt himself tensing up slightly in annoyance- how many times was he supposed to receive this talk over and over? If Byakuya noticed his annoyance, she didn't acknowledge it as she continued. "I think... you'd all be amazing. I wish I could swim with you all like that."

That last sentence made Haruka glance back at Byakuya in surprise. The girl still wasn't looking at him as she stared at the branches of the sakura tree, a wistful expression in her dark eyes. She had never expressed such feelings of envy before, and Haruka would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a bit surprised to hear her voicing such thoughts now.

"Y'know, I didn't like the idea of a flower bed here." Byakuya suddenly commented in a slightly lighter tone. "I thought it sort of... takes away the feeling the sakura tree gives, you know? It's the grandest of all the trees here, and to share that spotlight with gaudy flowers... I didn't like it."

Haruka had to agree with that- those had been his thoughts exactly when the class had first proposed the idea. However, since he hadn't voiced his opinion, the majority of the class voted for the flower bed, hence overriding his own personal wish. It had irked him somewhat then, and it still did now. He didn't guess that Byakuya would share that sentiment, though...

"But... the sakura tree just continues growing on its own and doing its usual thing." Byakuya continued. "It's not even bothered by what's gonna happen, because even if it's surrounded by a flower bed, it'll still stand tall. So... I probably should be more like that."

Here, the girl finally lowered her gaze back down to meet Haru's azure one. There was a wry smile on her face as she spoke again, her tone thoughtful.

"The sakura tree reminds me a lot of you, Haru-kun. The way you just seem to adapt naturally, without even worrying about anything as you reach for the sky... I envy that." She finished quietly, her hands clasping together tightly behind her back. She wanted to be like that- to be as free as that sakura tree was as it grew into such majesty. As Haruka continued to just stare silently at her in a mixture of surprise and confusion, Byakuya slowly began to realize what she'd said, and her face began to redden.

"...S-sorry, sorry!" Byakuya stuttered out, feeling a bit embarrassed at her admittance. She couldn't believed she had just confessed all that... "I didn't mean to talk your ear off. I'll just go... do something else now."

And she quickly turned back towards the school building and walked away, taking much faster and longer strides than she normally did. This was so embarrassing- she hoped Haru wouldn't remember or think on what she'd said for too long...

But then again, he wouldn't be Haru if he didn't. She just couldn't catch a break.

Azure eyes stared at the Shion girl's retreating back as she headed back into the school, leaving Haruka wondering what on earth that had been about all of a sudden. As he looked back up at the tall sakura tree, he replayed Byakuya's words to him over and over in his head. Was he a sakura tree, he wondered? Was he adapting to the change brought on by the foreign plants growing around him? Or was she wrong, and he was still struggling to accept it?

Perhaps there was a lesson to be learned from this huge, stoic tree, that braved through the harshness of change and nature better than any human ever could. And maybe... it was time for him to adapt as well.

The following swim practice, Haruka Nanase finally agreed to join the relay with the others.

* * *

><p>A hand smacked the wall of the pool in the Iwatobi Swim Club, and Byakuya emerged from the water as she panted. Looking up at Aki, who was timing her, she prompted the girl to update her on her progress.<p>

"Sixty-nine seconds, Shion-chan." Aki informed, her voice tinged with admiration. "You're getting better each time!"

"Thanks." Byakuya murmured in response, pulling herself out of the pool. She got to her feet as she yanked off her goggles, glancing over at Aki. "You wanna go in for your own lap?"

"No, that's alright." Aki waved it off casually. "I already had a go earlier."

"Oh. I see." Byakuya nodded, wringing out her swim cap in her hands. Her hair was getting pretty long- maybe she should get Aoi to take her to the hairdresser's again...

"Hey, Shion-chan." Aki called suddenly, catching Byakuya's attention.

"Hm?"

"Why aren't you joining the next tournament?" Aki asked, tilting her head to the side innocently. Byakuya's hands froze from their task at Aki's question, her pulse quickening as she did so. How was she supposed to answer that? Even she didn't know for sure why she hadn't joined the events this time...

No. That was a lie. She knew, all right- she knew all too well why she wasn't going to swim at the next tournament...

'Did you have fun?'

"Your times are one of the fastest amongst the girls here." Aki continued, oblivious to the Shion's increasingly tense demeanour. "And you normally participate in these things, so why-"

"Byakuya! Hey, Byakuya!"

A lively voice cut Aki off before she could complete her sentence, and both girls turned to face the source of the interruption. At the same time, Byakuya almost gave a sigh of relief- she didn't know how she would have taken Aki's inquiries had they continued any further. Jogging towards the two girls were Nagisa and Rin, the latter having been the one who had called out to Byakuya.

"Rin-kun. Nagi-kun." Byakuya greeted as the two boys came up to them. "What's up?"

"Well-"

"We need you to watch us!" Nagisa interrupted Rin enthusiastically, barely able to contain his excitement. The boy had managed to get on the relay team after all, after beating everyone else- even some of the older kids- at the breaststroke time trial. The Hazuki garnered a vaguely exasperated glance from Rin upon his interruption, but Nagisa didn't notice that at all.

"What?" Byakuya exclaimed in surprise. What were they talking about all of a sudden?

"We need to know where to improve." Rin elaborated, finally finding a way to involve himself in the conversation once more. "You swim individual medleys, so you know what our strokes should look like!" When Rin saw Byakuya's face fall slightly, he quickly added on to that sentence to stop her reluctance before it grew. "Come on, Byakuya! You're part of the team too, right?"

"Huh?" Byakuya started again at that, blinking in surprise. Part... of the team? Her?

"You're really good with observing!" Rin insisted, spotting a way to convince the girl. "You can train us personally!"

"Where did you get that idea?" Byakuya deadpanned. Was Rin serious when he said she was part of their team? But she wasn't even swimming with them...

"You're always helping me to correct my stroke!" Nagisa added, bouncing in front of the Shion girl. "You're really good at it too! Come on, Bya-kun!"

"If... if you're sure..." Byakuya responded hesitantly. She still wasn't sure what all this was about...

"All right! Let's hurry up and practice, then!" Rin snapped the strap of his goggles into place eagerly, and Nagisa imitated him.

"Yeah!" Nagisa exclaimed as well, before he grabbed onto Byakuya's arm and pulled her away- much to her distress.

"W-wait! I-"

Byakuya didn't get to finish her sentence, as her words became barely audible to Aki, who still stood where she was as she stared at the peculiar sight.

"...What a strange bunch." Aki muttered to herself. The guys in the relay team were rather eccentric, she had to admit, and it looked like Byakuya was getting dragged into it- whether she liked it or not.

Aki almost pitied the girl.

* * *

><p>"Hey, hey. Bya-kun." The cheeky voice of Nagisa Hazuki rang out as Byakuya fetched a drink from the vending machine in the Iwatobi Swim Club, catching her attention. The voice sounded like it came from behind her, so the Shion casually turned around, not expecting to see much aside from the bright, sunny blonde she was used to.<p>

"Hm? What-" Her attempt at a question was cut short, however, when the Hazuki practically shoved something into her face, nearly hitting her nose with the item he was holding. Byakuya started and backed up a bit, trying to get a better look at what Nagisa was holding out to her. It was... an ice cream?

"What's this?" Byakuya exclaimed in surprise, staring at the cone Nagisa was still holding out to her. The boy held two in his hands- the one he was offering her seemed to be a double scoop of vanilla, while the cone in his other hand consisted of another double scoop; only this one was strawberry.

"It's an ice cream, duh!" Nagisa pouted, seemingly disappointed at the girl's unintelligent statement. "You're supposed to be smart, Bya-kun!"

"I know that!" Byakuya defended immediately. Composing herself, she averted her gaze from the cone to the Hazuki's wide pink eyes. "I meant why would you give this to me?"

"Eating ice cream always makes me feel better when I'm sad." Nagisa chirped, wearing a wide smile on his face. "So maybe it'll work for you, too!"

Byakuya was taken aback at that. Nagisa thought she was sad? But why? She hadn't told him anything about what he situation at home was like now, or of her mother's deteriorating health. How... how did he know what she was feeling now? She thought she'd hidden it so well...

But of course- one could never lie to Nagisa. With all the innocent intentions he held, he could see through every lie; every act. He could read another person's emotions through and through- just by seeing the feelings reflected in their eyes. He saw, and he knew.

And he was trying to help her.

"...Thank you, Nagi-kun." Byakuya thanked gratefully, finally accepting the ice cream that he was holding out to her. Nagisa's smile seemed to brighten at that- if he smiled any wider, Byakuya was afraid his whole face would be consumed by his grin.

"No problem!" The blonde responded immediately. Once he said that, he met Byakuya's hazel gaze again, his own eyes reflecting with a hint of concern beneath all that brightness. "If you're still feeling down after you finish that, I'll get you another one, okay?" Nagisa offered, his tone kind. He meant it- he didn't know what was wrong, but he would do anything he knew and could do for his friend to make her feel better.

"T-that's okay, this should be fine." Byakuya waved it off, trying to reassure the Hazuki. She didn't want him getting too concerned for her sake- she would feel bad if she worried someone like him.

"You sure?" Nagisa raised an eyebrow. When Byakuya nodded, he stood up a bit straighter, pointing at the Shion with his free hand. "Then it's time to duel!"

"Huh?" Byakuya was stunned. What..?

"We're gonna have an ice-cream eating contest!" Nagisa declared, his eyes glinting with playfulness as he grinned challengingly ath Byakuya. "One-on-one! Whoever finishes their cone first wins!"

For a moment, Byakuya just stared at the blonde, wondering just what went on in that head of his. Eventually though, she started laughing at his miraculous mood-lifting methods, before meeting his eye evenly with a confident smirk on her lips.

"You're on!"

* * *

><p>Rin's head shot out of the water immediately after he touched the wall of the pool, and he practically leapt onto the poolside barely a second after. He was panting a bit as he took off his swim cap and goggles- he definitely hadn't expected to push himself like that all of a sudden. He had raced Nagisa- himself going slower than usual, of course- with the intention of seeing if that could somehow motivate the Hazuki to go faster, given that Nagisa's time was dropping. It definitely worked out better than he had expected- almost too well, in fact. Nagisa had caught up with him after the turn, and Rin had been shocked when he'd felt the Hazuki catching up to him- shocked enough that he had unwittingly put more strength into his stroke than he had promised.<p>

Nagisa had caught up to him. Even if he had been taking it easy on the younger boy... it was almost frightening to Rin.

"Rin-kun, you okay?" Byakuya's concerned voice broke Rin out of his thoughts for a moment, and he quickly glanced in the other direction.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He reassured, though he wasn't sure how convincing that sounded. "See? You can do it if you try." Rin commented to Nagisa as the blonde pulled off his own cap and goggles and clung to the poolside.

"I can't do it! I didn't catch up, did I?" Nagisa exclaimed, staring up at Rin with wide pink eyes. Rin couldn't bring himself to look at Nagisa- he couldn't let the boy see just how intimidated he had been earlier, and he knew that Nagisa would see just that if he met his eye. The boy had an almost creepy gaze whenever he looked into another person's eyes- piercing through every facade and mask...

"Your reach is-" Rin's voice was strained as he spoke up. He coughed slightly in an attempt to make it seem normal.

"Yeah?"

"Your reach is getting longer." Rin finished, shifting his feet uncomfortably.

"Mine is?" Nagisa asked, looking at his right arm. He definitely didn't feel anything different...

"Yeah. During the second half, you were gaining on me. That's when your reach was getting longer." Rin finished.

"Really? I couldn't tell at all, though…" Nagisa just kept staring at his arm in awe. If Rin thought his reach was getting longer, it must have, then...

"Hey, while you were swimming, what were you thinking about?" Rin asked suddenly, an inquiring expression in his crimson eyes. Nagisa was definitely a lot faster just now compared to all those other times- the competition must've unconsciously spurred him on.

"About catching up completely, and nothing else." Nagisa replied, confirming Rin's suspicions. It looked like Nagisa was the kind of person to go by instinct when it came to swimming, then.

"Byakuya, you saw that too, didn't you?" Rin asked, making sure he got it right.

"Yeah. I saw it." Byakuya nodded in agreement. "You seemed to stretch yourself out more towards after the turn."

"Woah! That's cool!" Nagisa cheered, his eyes sparkling.

"Hey, the way you were swimming just now... do you think you could do it again?" Rin asked. That made Nagisa's expression falter slightly.

"Um... I don't know..." Nagisa answered unsurely.

"Maybe you should try and race Rin-kun again." Byakuya suggested. "If you notice anything different about the way you swim after the turn, try to remember how it feels like. And then later you can try to keep doing that throughout the whole lap!"

"What if I can't feel anything?"

"Then you just have to keep working hard." Byakuya assured, smiling at Nagisa. "You can do it, Nagi-kun."

"Thanks, Bya-kun!" Nagisa grinned at that- it was nice to hear some semblance of praise. He then proceeded to pull on his goggles and swim cap again, before heading onto the starting block. Rin attempted to do the same, but just before he could step onto the block, Byakuya quietly called out to him.

"Rin-kun, what was that?" She whispered urgently. Rin shot a glance back at her, confused.

"What was what, Byakuya?" He asked.

"At the end there, you..." Rin tensed up when Byakuya said that- had she noticed, then? That spurt at the end? Thankfully, Byakuya seemed to think twice about finishing that sentence, and she retreated. "Never mind. It's not a big deal."

"Okay then." Rin responded quickly, not wanting her to pursue that topic. He got onto the block and moved into the starting position alongside Nagisa, before addressing Byakuya once more. "Give us the signal, Byakuya."

"Gotcha. One, two..." A short pause, and both Rin and Nagisa bent their knees slightly as they prepared for the jump...

"Go!"

And they leapt off. As Rin swam along, his thought idly wandered back to the Shion girl again, though he didn't slow down his swimming.

Nagisa hadn't been kidding, then- Byakuya really did have keen observation skills. She had noticed his last spurt at the end there, as well as Nagisa's increased reach. She also seemed to have noticed that the way Nagisa picked up on advice required a different approach as well, and was adjusting herself to it...

Rin had to admit- he was pretty impressed.

* * *

><p>"Give it back, Rin-kun!" Byakuya shouted as she lunged for her backpack, which Rin was holding out of her reach. The boy was quick on his feet, however, and easily jumped out of the way and tossed the bag to Nagisa, who was also helping in keeping the bag away from the girl. Swim practice was supposed to begin in a few more minutes, but Byakuya still wasn't in her swimsuit yet- and the boys were determined to find out why.<p>

"Not until you tell us why, Byakuya~" he teased.

The girl scowled at the Rin venomously, wishing for all the world that she could wring his neck. She then turned around to face her two so-called best friends, who were just standing by the sidelines and watching her try to get her stolen item back from the mischievous duo.

"Mako! Haru-kun! Get them to give me my bag back!" She cried, pouting.

Haruka just stood there and didn't move- he was probably letting Rin and Nagisa continue their harrassment out of his own curiousity . Makoto- having to play the mediator again- chuckled nervously and tried to smooth out the situation.

"Uhm, why don't you just tell us why you can't swim this week? Wouldn't that fix everything?" He asked hesitantly.

The girl's face darkened immediately and Makoto backed up a few steps. She looked like she was ready to murder.

"I said I couldn't tell you guys!" She exclaimed. "It's embarrassing!"

"It can't be that bad!" Nagisa insisted, trying his part at convincing the Shion.

"I'm not telling!" Byakuya denied.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"You are."

"I'm not!"

"You are."

"I'm not!"

"You're not."

"I am!"

"...Shit!" Byakuya cried frustratedly as she realized what Nagisa had tricked her into saying. Nagisa just giggled while the others sweatdropped- they weren't quite used to Byakuya's developing potty mouth.

"Cmon, Byakuya just tell us!" Rin coaxed. "We'll give you back your bag, and we won't tell anyone else- promise!"

Byakuya hesitated for a long time, until Rin and Nagisa pulled their most pitiful, pleading looks. Dammit.

"...Fine." she mumbled, conceding to their pleading. The two boys high-fived each other at their success- it was about time.! Byakuya then called all of them closer so that they formed a group huddle, looking up and down the hallway to make sure no one else was around. When they all leaned in closer to hear what she had to say...

"I got my period."

The three older boys shot back up immediately and backed away quickly, staring at Byakuya with horrified expressions on their faces- even Haru looked a bit pale. Their teachers had given them all briefings on the... changes that came with growing up, and they all knew what Byakuya meant...

That is, almost all of them.

"What's a period?" Nagisa asked innocently.

They all blanched. And then they immediately started walking away, making up some random excuse or other and trying desperately to avoid explaining the situation to the younger boy.

"Guys?" Nagisa asked in confusion. What was going on? He didn't understand what was going on at all!

That was all settled when he went home and asked his sisters, though. And then Nagisa didn't go near Byakuya for nearly a week after that, fearfully waiting until the terrifying "period" was over.

It was a pretty traumatizing experience.

* * *

><p>If there was one thing Haruka Nanase was absolutely sure of, it was that nothing was scarier than a furious Byakuya Shion. The first time he'd ever seen her really, really snap was when she had beaten up Jinta Miyazaki for bullying a younger girl- a small redhead with familiar crimson eyes. By the time Haruka, Makoto and Rin got the news of the scuffle, they'd only gotten there in time to see Byakuya heaving the larger boy by the collar, who by then had a bloody nose. Byakuya wasn't in top condition herself- she sported a few bruises, as well as a split lip. Even so, she was still in much better shape than Miyazaki just then.<p>

Haru and Mako were both well aware that Byakuya had quite a fiery temper, but the look on her face that day was one that still sent shivers down their spines to this day.

"B-Byaku-chan?" Makoto called out hesitantly as he tried to approach the furious girl. Byakuya spared a glance at Makoto, and her shoulders seemed to relax slightly from their tensed state when she saw him. She released her hold on Miyazaki, her gaze quickly sharpening once again as she glared at the boy, who tried to scuffle backwards as he met her furious gaze.

"Don't you ever let me catch you messing around like that again." Byakuya growled threateningly, not feeling a single ounce of sympathy for the bully. She probably would have said more- or possibly used her fists a bit more- if not for the sudden commotion in the crowd that had the students parting and making way for someone. When said person reached the edge of the crowd, it turned out to be none other than the principal of the school himself.

"What's going in here?" The principal demanded, observing the scene before him. His eyes widened slightly when he registered the beaten up states of the students, and he quickly made inquiries. "Miyazaki? Shion? What happened to you two?"

"Miyazaki tried to hit me first. I was just defending myself." Byakuya replied immediately, getting the first say in the story.

"Is that true?" The principal turned to Miyazaki, though the boy couldn't really respond- his bloody nose was impeding his speech quite a great deal. Huffing and running a hand through his hair in exasperation, the principal gestured to both the kids. "Both of you, come with me this instant! We're sending you two to the infirmary. We shall discuss this in my office later."

As the two students grudgingly followed after the principal, Makoto stepped forth worriedly, trying to call out to Byakuya.

"Byaku-chan-"

"It's okay, Mako." Byakuya replied smilingly, trying to placate the boy's concern as she walked past him "I'll sort it out! Don't worry, okay?"

The statement wasn't much, but it was enough to give Makoto a bit of relief, at least. He was still worried for his friend, however- he hoped she wouldn't get expelled for this...

"Byakuya beat up Jinta Miyazaki." Rin murmured under his breath, his expression stunned as he watched the two students leave. "I don't believe it..."

"Onii-chan!" A young, redheaded girl cried out, running towards the trio's position. Haruka and Makoto didn't really know her, but judging from the familiar shade of her hair and eyes, it was pretty obvious that she was related to Rin.

"Gou?" Rin exclaimed in surprise, before he spotted the tear streaks on her face. Instinctively, he moved forth and placed his arms around his sister's shoulders protectively, his voice more firm than before as he continued. "What happened here?"

"M-Miyazaki was pulling my hair, and calling me names." Kou sniffled. Rin silently mused that if Miyazaki wasn't already in such terrible shape, he would have beaten him up some more. "B-but then, Shion-san... she saved me."

So that was the reasoning behind the scene they just witnessed. Makoto and Haruka both exchanged alarmed looks- they remembered all too well a similar occurence involving the Shion back in kindergarten. It looked like some old habits just didn't die...

"Makoto, Haruka." Rin called out to his friends. As they looked back at Rin, the boy's expression was solemn as he continued seriously. "Remind me to never get on Byakuya's bad side. Ever."

They were all too ready to agree with him.

In the end, Jinta Miyazaki got expelled- not just for bullying, but also because he already had quite a record when it came to breaking the rules. No one really knew what happened to him after that- since he and his folks moved to another town not long after- but there were occasional rumours that the kid had actually become a total saint at his new school. Were it true, then that may or may not have been due to a particularly rough female and her ability to break noses with her fist.

Byakuya on the other hand managed to get out of it without any major consequences, but was punished for her use of violence. Said punishment was worse than being expelled (in her opinion) because it was a task no person in their right mind would willingly do... cleaning out the school toilets. The school also made a call to her mom, but Aoi was the one who picked up and came to collect his sister in Mikasa's stead.

Even though Aoi had seemed serious in front of the principal and said he'd punish Byakuya when they returned home, the moment the Shion siblings were alone Aoi high-fived his sister proudly. And then they went out for ice cream and swore that if their mother asked anything about Byakuya's injuries, it was because she fell down the stairs.

Just another normal day for the Shion duo.

* * *

><p>Rin wandered idly through the halls of the Iwatobi Elementary School after schooling hours, shooting fleeting glances at everything he passed by. Whether it was at the empty classrooms or the drab notice boards, the Matsuoka drank it all in, savouring the sight of these familiarities that he'd grown so accustomed to over the time he'd spent here. No matter what it was, he had to admit- he'd miss the days here. The boy wandered up and down the stairs and hallways, just taking his time as he walked through these halls for one of the last times. He'd have to leave soon- for another country, at that- and he didn't know when he'd be back. And if he was going to leave, he wanted to remember everything he could about this place to take with him.<p>

Once the boy had all but scoured the whole building, he strolled out of the school, stepping onto the grounds. There was one spot that he'd come to favour after all his time here- a spot that he'd never gotten sick of no matter how many times he ventured there. If the Matsuoka had to take one regret with him, it was that he never got to swim in that pool full of cherry blossoms like he had dreamed of. And so, his feet carried him to the poolside where the giant tree sat, expecting a peaceful silence and solitude when he arrived. However, the Matsuoka was surprised when he saw a dark-haired figure sitting by the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water as she sat on the dry ground.

"Hey, Byakuya." Rin greeted as he approached, a light grin gracing his features. The girl looked up as he approached, seemingly startled by his sudden appearance.

"Oh. Rin-kun." Byakuya nodded, a small smile on her own face. "You're still here too, huh?"

"Yeah. Figured I wanted to look around a bit more before heading home." Rin shrugged as he squatted by the poolside as well, before plopping himself down next to the Shion. "You didn't go back with Makoto and Haruka?"

"No. Wanted to look around some more, myself." Byakuya replied. Rin just nodded in acknowledgement, before he cast his gaze up at the sakura tree overlooking the pool. The branches of the tree were completely bare, save for a couple shrivelled up leaves that still insisted on clinging to the branches.

"It's weird, huh?" Rin commented idly as he kicked off his own sneakers and socks, soaking his bare feet in the pool as well. It was pretty cold, but nothing he couldn't handle. "It seems like just yesterday that I transferred here, but in just a couple more days, we'll be going to middle school."

"Yeah, everything just passed by so fast." Byakuya agreed wistfully, swirling her feet in the water. One of the leaves that had been hanging on to the branches finally gave out as it drifted on the wind, landing in the water of the pool with barely a ripple. The two kids just stayed silent for a moment, enjoying the quiet moment as they just watched the stray leaf floating on the surface of the pool. As Rin casually teached into his pocket, his fingers brushed something- an Omamori charm. Remembering that Byakuya's mom had made one charm for each of the relay members for good luck back when they'd started their training, he turned back to Byakuya, a hint of concern in his scarlet eyes.

"How's your mom doing?" Rin asked quietly. The girl seemed to tense slightly at his question, though she met his eye. A taut smile pulled at her lips, one that made Rin want to wince- it was so obviously forced.

"Not good." Byakuya attempted a chuckle to make things less serious, but it came out sounding like a hoarse bark.

"Oh." Rin averted his gaze uncomfortably. He honestly had no idea what to say- what could he possibly say that wouldn't sound cold and clichéd? Half-hearted words of sympathy never did anyone any good- Rin knew from experience. Even if he had been in a similar situation himself before, he still didn't know what to say. "...That sucks." He mumbled.

"It does." Byakuya agreed. This time, she didn't bother to try for that weak laugh. Another silence passed over the two of them, and Rin shifted uncomfortably in his position. Though he knew he should honestly say something more, there was another thing on his mind- a question he'd wanted to ask Byakuya for a while now.

"...Say, Byakuya." Rin called out hesitantly, unsure if she would respond positively- it was currently too difficult to tell.

"Hm?" Byakuya tilted her head slightly upon being called. Since she hadn't told him to shove off, Rin took it as a good sign that she would be willing to converse a bit with him. He'd try not to push it, though...

"What do you wanna do when you're grown up?" Rin asked, his expression more solemn than usual. It was a serious question- one that he was honestly curious of the answer to.

"What do I..." Byakuya blinked in surprise, having not expected that kind of question. "What's with this all of a sudden?"

"Just wondering." Rin shrugged- not a total lie, he justified. To be completely honest, he was curious if she could possibly be aiming for a goal similar to the one he was chasing; given her own parent's occupation. "Do you think you'd want to be a professional swimmer?"

"...Maybe." Byakuya answered after a long pause, though her voice was extremely skeptical. Her hand lifted to her forehead, and she rubbed at it as if it could somehow erase the lines her furrowed brows caused. "I don't think so, though."

"Hm?" Now it was Rin's turn to blink in surprise. Why would she doubt so? With a legacy left behind by her mother's name, as well as her own degree of talent at the sport, he figured she would have far less trouble gaining an occupation within the swimming world if she chose to pursue it. Why would she even consider letting such an advantage slide?

"It's just..." Byakuya kicked her feet in the water lightly, almost as if she was frustrated with something. "All those expectations, y'know? People want you to win all the time, when there are so many other swimmers out there... it's really tough competition."

"So you're saying you don't want to become one because it's too much work?" Rin raised an eyebrow. That wasn't a very impressive excuse- if it could even be counted as one. She was passing up all her advantages just because she didn't want to put in that effort?

"That's not what I meant." Byakuya sighed, though she didn't give any more elaboration. Rin frowned a bit in disapproval- what did she mean, then? What was holding her back? She was born with so much, and yet... she didn't want to use the opportunities she was granted?

"Life is about competition." Rin glanced at Byakuya as he advised sagely, though his tone was somewhat strict- he wanted to get his point across. "You can't just back out of it just because there are too many people who want the same thing."

"I know. But it's just..." Byakuya's voice died in her throat, and she turned her head away as she trailed off. Rin just waited for her to finish her sentence, but Byakuya remained unmoving, staring at her reflection in the water with a blank expression on her face. Had he accidentally crossed some invisible border? He'd never seen that kind of look on the Shion's face before- was this a topic that was too sensitive for her?

"Byakuya?" Rin called out hesitantly, as if he was afraid she was suddenly going to snap. The girl still didn't look up, and for a moment, Rin was starting to get a bit worried. She'd never remained this unresponsive before...

Much to his relief, however, Byakuya finally opened her mouth to speak, though her eyes still remained glued to the reflection in the pool. As Byakuya spoke, her voice was weary and tired, and in that moment she sounded five times older than she actually was. What she said was something that really stuck with the Matsuoka boy; a single sentence that really got him thinking...

"If I have to be the best at something, I want to be happy doing it."

* * *

><p>Rin's crimson eyes stared up at the majestic sakura tree in the school compound once more, his expression distant. It was two days before the relay- the day before their graduation. He would miss this school, this old tree, and everything and everyone else he had encountered here. Even if he had been here for barely a year, he still managed to grow attached to this place, as well as the friends he had made.<p>

Speaking of which...

"...I won't be attending middle school here." Rin announced, not looking away from the tree as he informed Haruka, Makoto and Byakuya of his plans. Even though he wasn't watching their expressions, he heard their collective intake of breaths- obviously, the statement had shocked them.

"What?" Byakuya exclaimed.

"Whaddya mean, Rin?" Makoto added as well, his voice stunned. Rin just gave a wry smile at that- their exclamations were like a jab at his heart, making him feel guilty for not telling them earlier. However, he steeled himself to continue his explanation, not allowing himself to falter.

"I'm going to Australia." He replied simply. He was going to miss them- this eccentric bunch...

"You're going to a different country?" Makoto exclaimed.

"Yep. I'm going to a swimming school." Rin shrugged. This was getting harder and harder to explain. He noticed that Haruka still hadn't said anything, but that was nothing new. He had gotten used to the Nanase's silence over the past couple of months.

"...What are you trying to do?" Makoto asked quietly.

Rin grinned as he looked up into the sky, trying to evade the gazes of his friends. "I'm gonna be an Olympic swimmer! Just like Mikasa-obasan was!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Makoto continued. Rin realized that he had made a mistake though- Byakuya's sudden silence made him feel guilty for his thoughtless slip of the tongue. "What about the relay?"

Rin shrugged and started walking away for a moment, trying to seem casual. In truth, he was trying not to let the feelings of guilt and his longing to stay here with them get to him. This was what he had to do- if he ever wanted to achieve his dream, he had to further his swimming abroad. "I'm still gonna be swimming in the relay, I'm just leaving the day after the tournament."

"So soon?" Byakuya asked. Rin just shrugged and outstretched his hand, catching a few falling leaves in his hand.

"Yep. So this will be the last time the four of us will be swimming together." He commented. This time, he couldn't keep the vague wistfulness out of his voice as he stared at the brown leaves in his hand. There was a long silence for a moment, before the person Rin least expected to speak up opened his mouth...

"...I only swim freestyle." Haruka commented monotonously. Rin couldn't help but give a small smirk at that as his hand closed around the leaves in his hand- typical Nanase. Always such a puzzle, even after so long.

"That's exactly why you have to swim in the relay," Rin responded, clutching his hand into a fist as he faced Haruka determinedly. "This is our last chance. Let's swim together, Nanase."

The raven-haired boy didn't respond, instead choosing to return his stare at the brick wall surrounding the flower bed. Rin knew what he was looking at- there were several bricks that happened to be arranged conveniently so that they looked like they formed a sentence. Ironically, all four of their phrases were among those that supplied words to the sentence...

"I swim." Makoto.

"Best." Don't know whose that was.

"Free." That one was obvious.

"For the Team." His own brick.

"Forever." Byakuya's.

That was what they were going to do. They were always going to swim as best as they could for the team, so that they could be free- or so he hoped.

Rin glanced back up at Haruka, who still remained silent. It was now or never, he guessed- maybe it wouldn't hurt to share a bit of his dream with them, as well. Rin placed his hands behind his head nonchalantly, a grin crossing his features as he slowly stated...

"If you swim with me..."

* * *

><p>"...I'll show you a sight you've never seen before." Rin finished quietly. He grit his teeth as he finished that sentence, inwardly cursing himself for letting his mind wander yet again. Ever since he'd seen his old teammates swimming that relay without him, he'd found himself thinking more and more about the old days- back when they were kids... when they were friends.<p>

He muttered a small curse under his breath as he stood up from his bed- he'd been sitting there and staring at the wall opposite him for hours now, and it was already late into the night. Nitori was sleeping soundly in the bunk above him, oblivious to Rin's insomniac tendencies. As the Matsuoka boy prepared to leave the room to try and walk off his worries, a buzzing from the cellphone on the table caught his attention- it was Nitori's cell. Rin stared at Nitori's phone, his eyes narrowing suspiciously when he saw the ID of the message's sender on the screen.

'_Byakuya Shion'_

The Matsuoka boy snatched up the phone immediately, not bothering about respecting Nitori's privacy. His roommate had been in contact with Byakuya? When he read the latest message, his eyes widened slightly.

'_Nitori-kun, thank you for your help with Rin-kun. There's no need to keep me updated anymore_.'

Rin quickly got over his initial shock and proceeded to scroll through the earlier messages, his crimson eyes quickly scanning through the conversations Byakuya had had with Nitori.

_'Is Rin-kun eating well?'_

_'Has he been getting enough sleep?'_

_'What a fool. Is he dressed properly?'_

_'15 laps in one go? Stupid boy... Make sure he doesn't pull a muscle._'

And nearly all the messages went on in a similar fashion, Nitori updating Byakuya on some of Rin's antics while the Shion girl replied with concerned and sometimes sarcastic responses. Rin barely noted the more casual conversations the two had had- he was more focused on the messages about him, especially the one she had sent on the first day of prefecturals...

_'Good luck for your event, Nitori-kun! Give my wishes to Rin-kun, too! I'll be rooting for you guys!'_

Rin's hold on the phone tightened so much the phone might have broken in his grip, had he not slammed it back onto the table. He cursed as he ran a hand through his red hair, pondering upon this latest discovery. Aiichirou had been informing Byakuya about his movements, and from the looks of it, it had been Byakuya's idea. There were some things Nitori hadn't told her of- like his nightmare- but Rin felt rather angry at the violation of his privacy. Who was Byakuya to pry into his business so much? And what was Nitori thinking- giving her that information? Sure, he hadn't given her any major details, but still, why was he any of Byakuya's- or any of the others, for that matter- concern? He hadn't been asked to be babied this way, like some child! So why...

Why should it even bother him?

In the end, Rin's expression hardened and he made his decision. He wouldn't confront Nitori about this. It wasn't important- not anymore. It was over, anyway. Byakuya had told Nitori to stop updating her on his condition, and Nitori would undoubtedly comply to her wishes. Rin would have his privacy back, not having to worry about this again. He was going to swim in the relay against Haru and the others, and then he would be able to put all of this behind him. These trivial things wouldn't bother him anymore.

But if so, then why did he feel so... hollow?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Words. So many wordsss. Sorta filler-y, I know, but I just had to. I finally read the High Speed novel and the muse hit me one fine day, thus leading to me expanding the flashback scenario. I'm sorry for the length 8'D I really wanted to touch more on the scenes with Aki and Sousuke from the novel, but then... that would have been way too long OTL so I just took a couple of events I thought would be a bit more crucial to expand on the history between Byakuya and the others. And to show the contrasts between her personality then, the beginning of the fic, and now. <strong>

**As usual, I would like to extend my thanks to theshrewdravenclaw, Mazgrl98, trunksgf96, maggikarps, Shizuka Kitsune, MyFriendsAreMyPower, Heavenly Condemned, AnimexLuver4Ever, wow** (In response to your review: I'm honoured that you think so highly of this fic! I apologize for having it keep you up so late though, haha! Thank you for your praise!),** gOthiCkUrOcHo69, Im Soo Bin, EXOtic7889, pookie97, UnfaithfulDragon, tessisbestnz, ackermaaaaaaan (that name omg), Sentient Stranger, McFassy, Blue Fire Lily, minkyhinky, Poetic Agony, Scarlette Winter, and Xx1DaY4dReAmEr3xX for all your support! Stay awesome you guys! ;D**


	47. Chapter 47

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

The water's surface rippled and splashed as Byakuya dove into the pool, doing a couple of warm-up laps for the day. After a bit of coaxing and begging on the Iwatobi team's part, they had finally managed to convince Coach Sasabe to drop by and train them in preparation for regionals. The man himself hadn't arrived yet- he only got off work a bit later- so the swimmers all busied themselves as they warmed up and prepared for a day of strenuous training- the old coach was renowned for his tough regimen.

5 laps of breaststroke, and another 5 of butterfly was Byakuya's new warm-up routine. She kept on repeating that pattern until she successfully accomplished 500 meters of swimming- possibly more, since she wasn't really keeping count. The water parted as Byakuya touched the starting wall once more, finally deciding that she was done with warm ups- she felt exhausted...

And yet she still couldn't get her mind off the sole topic that had been bugging her all day and night since Saturday. She wished someone would kill her already.

Byakuya emitted a barely audible groan in between her constant panting for breath, leaning her forehead against the side of the pool. She couldn't be bothered to get out- she was lazy to do so, and if she did, she knew all too well who she would see. Then that would make her feel all the more confused as to what was going on again. What a to-do...

The sound of footsteps headed her way made Byakuya freeze, and her head practically shot up as she sought out the person approaching. For the love of all things good, please let it be-

Nagisa.

Dangit.

"Hey, Bya-kun." Nagisa greeted as he sat down on the poolside in front of Byakuya's lane, staring down at the girl with his big, pink eyes. Crud, Byakuya knew that look- it was the same curious, inquiring one that meant he was looking for answers.

"Yeah?" Byakuya responded nonchalantly, pushing her goggles onto her head.

"Did something happen between you and Mako-chan?" Nagisa asked, tilting his head. There it was- Byakuya knew he would've caught on. Nagisa was a smart kid, of that there was no doubt, but that didn't stop Byakuya from trying to lie her way out of his inquiries.

"'Course not. What gave you that idea?" She shrugged.

"You two haven't spoken to each other the whole day." Nagisa pointed out simply- so he had noticed, after all. "Did you guys fight?"

"No way." Byakuya sighed, lying her head in her arms, which were crossed on the poolside. As she did so, she could see Makoto swimming in another lane- the one furthest from hers, she noted. No surprise there, since he'd been avoiding her ever since the festival. She'd tried calling him on his phone, but he didn't pick up. When she'd dropped by his house, the rest of the Tachibanas informed her that Makoto was 'feeling unwell and had been in his room all day', so he wasn't able to see her. Byakuya didn't know whether to believe that Mako really had been in his room all day, or if he had somehow managed to convince his family to play along because he didn't want to see her just then- it might have been the latter, due to the sympathetic look she swore she'd seen in Mr Tachibana's eyes. And then during the walk to school the past few mornings, Makoto had made sure he had Haru with him before he came to pick her up, so she couldn't speak to him alone.

She wanted to kick the stupid boy.

"Then what is it?" Nagisa asked insistently. He was getting so impatient just watching his two friends- heck, the closest those two had come to interacting these past few days was the furtive glances they kept shooting at each other, all of which lasted for the span of no more than 5 milliseconds. It was killing him to not know what was going through their heads- especially after all the effort he'd gone through to get them together. He'd thought it worked well, but now he was having his doubts.

"Nothing's going on, Nagi-kun. Don't worry yourself." Byakuya replied, though she still didn't meet his eye. Nagisa frowned- he knew she was hiding something, but before he could prod further, Kou's frantic voice broke the silence.

"Big news!" The Matsuoka ran up the stairs leading to the pool, panting from the exertion- she must've run quite some distance to get here. The girl didn't waste time though, as she looked up at her teammates with a look of panic in her eyes. "My brother's swimming in the relay at regionals!"

"Ehh?!" That startled everyone- this was major news! What had brought this about, all of a sudden? Haruka turned around slowly from his place on the starting block, his eyes wide as he stared at Kou in shock- had he heard right?

"You're serious?" Makoto inquired, leaning his arms on the edge of the pool as he paused from his laps.

"There's no doubt about it!" Kou responded quickly, holding up her phone as she explained. "I even texted Mikoshiba-san to be sure. It's true!"

"But why would he do that?" Rei mused to himself, unconsciously pushing his glasses up his nose. This was getting stranger and stranger- as if the situation at prefecturals and the festival weren't enough, this was suddenly thrown upon them. Just what was the Matsuoka boy up to?

Byakuya felt her mind go blank. She slowly turned her stunned gaze from Kou back to the water of the pool, her eyes unblinking. All she could think about was that night at the festival, when she'd confronted Rin...

"If you honestly think this is the way you'll ever find your happiness- by choosing to walk this path alone... think again."

_'...What are you trying to do, Rin-kun?'_

* * *

><p>"Hey! Put some more effort into it!" Coach Sasabe hollered authoritatively, watching closely as the Iwatobi relay team began yet another demonstration. The coach had finally gotten here several minutes ago, but from the way he was pushing them all, it felt like they'd been training for hours.<p>

"Makoto, your form is terrible! You're not using your shoulders!" Goro huffed impatiently as he stood by the poolside with his hands on his hips, clad in a black kneeskin. Despite how good they were, some of their basics were still rather sloppy, causing them to lose potential speed and energy. These kids were all amateurs in Sasabe's professional opinion.

"Nagisa, you're bending your knees too much. You don't have to use such a powerful jump for a relay dive." Goro continued as Nagisa dove over Makoto's head and began his own lap. The kid was only wasting energy with that sort of jump- what was he thinking? The old coach was sure that he had his work cut out for him today...

As Nagisa finished his lap, he didn't hesitate to swim away once Rei jumped in- for once, Goro had appraised Rei for his jump instead of correcting him like he had with the others; lucky guy. Nagisa pushed his goggles to his head as he made his way to the poolside ladder, suppressing the urge to groan in exhaustion.

"I'm glad that Goro-chan agreed to coach us, but his training regimen is tough." Nagisa sighed as he climbed out of the pool. His muscles were aching like crazy...

"That's why everyone called him Goro the Demon." Makoto commented despondently, also climbing out of the pool. The old coach used to be pretty feared back in their swim club days, and that was actually what had prompted Aoi to accept a bet to pull a fast one on him that one time years ago. Everyone had been in awe of the Shion boy for his ability to pull off the itching powder prank without being caught back then.

"Your kick is extremely lacking, Byakuya!" Sasabe's voice reprimanded fiercely, and Makoto briefly spared a glance at the next lane to observe the Iwatobi team's sole competitor for the individual medley. "You have to do better than that- work those leg muscles! And that butterfly stroke was terrible!"

"Thank you, coach!" The Shion called back in response, breathing heavily once she'd completed her demonstration.

"That wasn't a compliment!" Sasabe retorted.

"I didn't take it as such, coach!"

"Don't get cheeky, young lady!"

"Understood, coach!"

Makoto couldn't fight off the small smile that tugged at his lips as he observed the banter, though he quickly caught himself and looked away immediately before anyone could notice. He didn't want anyone catching him looking at Byakuya- especially not the girl herself. He was already in a complicated situation with her as it was, and the last thing he needed to do was catch her attention...again. Things were already awkward enough between them as it was.

Dammit. He wouldn't be in this position if he hadn't kissed her that night. Makoto cursed his stupid, impulsive emotions. He could have just gone another day without making things so complicated- all he'd had to do was look away that night, away from those full, attractive... soft... strawberry-tinted lips...

He needed to get his head examined. This was messing him up.

"Rei, if you can't coast into the wall, throw in another kick!" Coach Sasabe's voice pulled him out of his reverie, and the Tachibana shifted his gaze to the starting block, where Haruka was poised and ready to dive in. As Rei touched the wall, Sasabe clicked his tongue in exasperation. "Not like that! Haruka, watch your timing as you fall in!" Haruka seemed to be trying to do as he was directed, but the coach still seemed unsatisfied, as he gave another reprimand.

"No! You have to watch Rei more closely!" Goro scolded, before he placed a hand on his face in frustration and sighed. "Come on..."

"The old man is as overbearing as ever, huh?"

"Well, he's just-" Makoto cut himself off as he registered the owner of the voice coming from his left, and he froze up immediately. Spinning to face the source of the voice, he paled slightly as he saw none other than the girl he'd been trying to avoid all day. "B-Byaku-chan!"

"I'm not the boogeyman, Mako. Calm down." Byakuya responded, a deadpan expression on her face.

Crap crap craaaappp.

"R-right!" Makoto agreed quickly, trying to back away from her slowly. His attempt didn't escape her notice, however, and she just as easily matched his pace as she walked towards him. Every time he made a step backwards, she took one step forth. It was like a really terrifying game of cat and mouse for Makoto- him being the mouse, while Byakuya looked like she was going to pounce and maul him at any second.

"Mako," Byakuya said slowly, her eyes never leaving his face. Makoto tensed up even more as she said his name, knowing all too well what that tone meant- she was talking business. "About last Saturday-"

"That's it!" Coach Sasabe's yell cut Byakuya off before she could finish her question- Makoto couldn't be more thankful for the coach and his harsh commands. "Everybody out of the pool and gather around!"

"W-we should go!" Makoto stuttered out, the words getting stuck in his throat as he pointed in the direction of Coach Sasabe. "There. Coach. Talk later."

Byakuya just looked confused at what he was saying. Makoto didn't blame her. So he just turned on his heel and walked towards the coach, taking long strides to distance himself from the Shion as quickly as he could. He couldn't help but give a long exhale of relief- that had been close...

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about it. He just wasn't sure how Byakuya herself was feeling about this whole thing, and he couldn't think of an explanation in case she asked for one.

But most of all, he was afraid he would be rejected.

"You guys don't know what you're doing!" Goro scolded the swimmers as they gathered before him, all looking rather sheepish at being reprimanded. The old coach gave a deep sigh as he saw their downcast faces, and crossed his arms over his chest. "You leave me no other choice."

"Eh?" The teens all started as they heard that, wondering what the coach was talking about. Goro didn't answer their question directly, but instead turned away, heading towards the locker rooms and gesturing for the rest of them to follow. Upon opening the door, they all peered inside to see loads of cameras, cables and the like strewn across the floor of the room, much to their confusion. Kou stood in the middle of the room as well, looking disgruntled as she attempted to sort out some of the cables. Coach Sasabe, however, just grinned and heaved a couple of the untangled cables and poles into his arms, before haphazardly tossing them over to Makoto and Haruka. The two boys fumbled with the catch- having not expected the sudden action- and just glanced back confusedly at the coach.

"Go and set these up across the pool. Keep 'em high above the water!" Goro directed, before he turned to the others. "Rei, Nagisa! Come with me! Byakuya, go help Gou set up the other cameras!"

The members of the swim club were still completely confounded by the coach's strange requests, but heeded them anyway. Makoto and Haruka hefted the cables over their shoulders, bringing them out to the poolside. As they went about their tasks of setting them up, Haruka shot Makoto a look.

"Makoto."

"Hm?" Makoto looked down from where he was attaching a cable to a pole, curious as to what his friend had to say. Haruka wore a serious expression on his face- one that stated that he was determined to get an answer.

"What happened?" Haruka asked calmly, though his eyes were alert. He didn't need to specify what he was talking about- the Nanase was always pretty in tune with Makoto's behaviour, and this situation wasn't any different. Especially since Byakuya had called him up just yesterday to rant about Makoto's- and he quoted, 'stupid, irrational attitude that made her want to beat him to a bloody pulp and hang his corpse from the school flagpole'.

Needless to say, Haruka was pretty anxious to get this issue settled.

"It's nothing, Haru." Makoto reassured, before fixing his attention back on the cables he was setting up. Once all that was done, Makoto hesitantly shot a look back at his best friend. The raven-haired boy's gaze had never left his, and though his expression was neutral, those azure eyes seemed to bore holes into Makoto's head with barely concealed frustration.

The Tachibana sighed. He wasn't getting out of this.

"It happened after the festival..."

* * *

><p>"How do you like this?" Sasabe proclaimed enthusiastically as he gestured proudly towards the elaborate recording equipment he had set up by the poolside. The table by the poolside was occupied by three TV screens, all of each were connected to the numerous cameras set up around the poolside. There was one hanging from the cable stretched across the pool and two more on each side- one on the surface, and another waterproof one that was attached to a pole beneath the water. Haruka had served as the first one to test the set, with Makoto, Kou and Goro each manning one of the cameras to follow the boy as he swam.<p>

"I see." Kou mused in awe as they watched a replay of Haruka's lap. "This lets them check their form from multiple angles." Indeed, with all the strategically placed cameras, they had covered pretty much every angle from which they could observe Haruka's form and movement.

"Where'd you even get the dough to buy all this stuff,though..." Byakuya mumbled to herself. This was quite a sophisticated set of equipment- there was no way it came cheap. However, Byakuya had to appreciate the amount of effort Coach Sasabe was putting into this for them- he wasn't even getting paid, and yet he was willing to do all this.

Her train of thought was cut off, though, when Haruka silently moved away from the group gathered around the table and pulled his swimming equipment back on, preparing for another lap in the pool. As he jumped in this time, Byakuya noted that Haruka's strokes were noticeably more precise- a lot neater than it was before.

"Haru-chan's being very proactive." Nagisa observed thoughtfully. Silent though he was, the Nanase seemed pretty motivated- possibly even more so than before.

"Yes! That's the way!" Goro praised as he watched Haruka swim, impressed by the boy's quick observation and improvement. Not everyone was quite as happy with Haruka's progress, though...

"What is it, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked as he noticed the way Rei's lips had thinned slightly, his violet eyes narrowing as he watched his senior swim. Having known the bluenette for quite a while, Nagisa found it rather easy to read his emotions from the signs and aura he exuded.

"His form may be perfect now, but this isn't the way I like to see Haruka-senpai swim." Rei replied, his tone solemn. There was something off about the way Haruka was swimming now. It reminded him all too much of the way he used to be with his pole vaulting- too focused on form and accuracy. "It was more beautiful before."

"Oh..." Nagisa trailed off, realizing that Rei had a point there. Haruka's form now as he swam seemed... stiffer, somehow.

"That's the price of perfection, I suppose." Byakuya commented.

"I'd rather pay the price of freedom than that of perfection." Rei responded sagely. Byakuya shot a surprised look at Rei at his reply, but the boy's eyes were still glued on Haruka, his brows furrowed- as if he hadn't even meant to respond as wisely as he had. He was thinking about something- and Byakuya had a feeling it went deeper than just Haruka's change in swimming. The Shion just averted her gaze once more, a wry smile on her lips as she replayed Rei's words in her head.

_'That makes two of us, then._'

* * *

><p>Coach Sasabe hummed appreciatively as he stepped into the now-clean locker rooms during the team's short break, looking around as he recalled his own high school days back here. He'd been quite the athlete back then, spending countless days and hours in this very locker room as he and his own team eagerly prepared for swim practice. There had been a lot more members in the swim club back then, and nearly all of them had pretty much quit swimming now, but this locker room still remained unchanging. It was sort of comforting really; to have this one constant thing to remind him of the good ol' days.<p>

"Yeah, this place brings back memories." Goro commented wistfully. "The locker room hasn't changed one bit."

The coach then headed towards the row of lockers to his right, remembering where his old locker had been. It had been years since he'd last been here, but some casual habits just never went away. Opening up the locker, he started and grinned as he saw the message scrawled in permanent marker on the inside of the locker door. Written in big, cursive letters were the words 'Forevar Iwatobi'.

"My message is still here!" Goro exclaimed happily, reading the words out loud. "Forever Iwatobi!"

"Goro-chan, you spelt it wrong!" Nagisa pointed out, looking over the coach's shoulder as he glanced at the locker door. He definitely wasn't an English expert, but even he could tell a misspelling like that.

"I'm not that picky!" Coach Sasabe retorted defensively. Obviously, he hadn't been much of an English expert during his high school years, either.

"It doesn't affect his ability to coach." Haruka pointed out monotonously as he and the others also entered the locker rooms. As long as he could teach them well enough, he didn't care for the coach's skills in grammatical areas.

"That's true." Nagisa agreed. "Goro-chan helped us to work on our exchanges."

"Let's keep up the hard work; so we can face Rin again in the relay." Makoto added firmly, his green eyes flashing with determination. They had to give it their all- they were going to bring their team to the top, after all.

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Goro grinned, pleased to see how fired up these kids were. "Then it's time for me to get serious!"

"Ehhh?!" Nagisa exclaimed. 'Get serious'? Was he implying that the current workout he was putting on them wasn't already the toughest?

"Yeah! I'll work you hard- very, very hard!" Coach Sasabe laughed, evidently having no mercy for the Iwatobi kids. Even Byakuya sweatdropped at how ruthless Sasabe was being- he wasn't called 'demon' for nothing...

"Byakuya-senpai." The sound of Rei calling out to her in a low voice caught her attention, and Byakuya turned around curiously to meet his violet gaze. "Could you please come with me for a moment?"

"Huh? Sure." Byakuya agreed readily, though she was still a tad confused. Rei didn't say any more as he silently exited the locker rooms, Byakuya following after him.

As the two of them left the rest of their teammates where they were, Haruka just watched them leave, a hint of intrigue in his ocean-blue eyes.

* * *

><p>"What's up?" Byakuya asked nonchalantly, her posture casual as she addressed the blue-haired underclassman. Standing before her, Rei's posture was the exact opposite of hers- his back was ramrod-straight, and his muscles seemed a bit tense. His expression was solemn as he met Byakuya's gaze, his eyes alert as he relayed his question.<p>

"Who is Matsuoka-san to you all?" Rei asked simply, his eyes watching the senior's reaction expectantly. Byakuya seemed startled at the question- that was what this was about?

"This again?" Byakuya gave a small smile in the hopes of lightening the situation, but Rei's expression remained serious. Deciding that joking around wasn't the thing to do right now, she thought about his question before answering. "Like I've said- he was our teammate. That's pretty much all there is to it."

"But," Rei urged, feeling a bit impatient at the answer. "Why is it so important to all of you that we have to race him? Aren't we supposed to be focusing on what we can do as a team?"

The mention of Rin down in the locker rooms earlier must have affected him more than anyone would have thought, Byakuya noted. She never would have guessed that- to her, hearing Rin's name during their discussions about swimming wasn't anything new. But to Rei- who had only just gotten onto their team this year and barely knew Rin- it must have been frustrating. To hear an outsider's name being constantly repeated in their conversations, and not understanding why... it must be killing him not to know.

"It's difficult to sever old bonds sometimes, Rei-kun. Even when someone has hurt you, there's still that part of you that doesn't want to let go. I suppose that's why we're doing this, I guess." Byakuya replied, not knowing quite how to answer Rei's question. How could she? After all, there were still some parts of the situation that she herself didn't understand entirely- she was simply doing this because she had been friends with Rin all those years ago. Heck, even she had to admit it was a bit unreasonable for them to be chasing after Rin after all that had happened- she was mostly trusting her other friends' judgement right now and believing that they knew what they were doing. Even if she was a bit curious herself, inquisitiveness was not something that was too prominent in her nature.

"You're not sure, are you?" Rei asked, seeing the hesitation in Byakuya's eyes- as expected, he was as observant as ever.

"It's not that I'm not sure. It's just... I don't know how to put it into words." Byakuya lowered her head, her hand reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose as she squeezed her eyes shut. She thought hard for a moment, before she said the only thing that she could think of. "I guess... we just want things to be like they were back then. But we're still trying to do our best for our own team, too. You have to trust us, Rei-kun- we just don't want you to have to carry our burdens, too."

"...I see, senpai." Rei responded after a few beats of silence, his voice somewhat stiff. Byakuya looked back at Rei again cautiously, seeing that his expression was a bit taut, like he was displeased with something but was restraining himself from snapping. He bowed once towards the senior, hiding his expression from sight for a moment. "Thank you for your time."

"Rei-kun..." Byakuya trailed off as Rei straightened up and headed towards the starting block, not sparing a moment for her to add her input. He was so obviously frustrated- it even showed from the stiffness of his muscles as he jumped the starting block and began to swim. His strokes had improved quite a bit as well, thanks to Coach Sasabe's assistance, but there was something a bit more aggravated about the way he was swimming now- as if he was trying to tire out his frustration through his swimming.

Byakuya gave a dreary sigh, and rubbed her forehead with her hand. As if all the other complications she had on her mind weren't enough, she had to add Rei to the equation as well. She understood his curiosity, and his need to know- after all, friendships were built on trust, and for his friends to seem like they were withholding information from him must be causing him some amount of unease. It wasn't that she disliked Rei- there was no way she could, they were teammates after all- but still, she was already so frazzled with everything else that was going on... it was going to take forever to tie up all these loose ends.

The Shion just exhaled slowly, her eyes locking on to Rei once again as he swam through the water. Suddenly, she could understand why he chose to swim when his mind was conflicted- the water definitely looked appealing now. And so, she didn't hesitate as she pulled on her own swimming accessories, got on the starting block, and proceeded to swim in her own lane. It was only after she had made her second turn that she realized she was pretty much wasting her break time when she could have been resting...

...

Nah. Resting was for chumps.

* * *

><p>Violet eyes stared into empty space as Rei Ryugazaki mused over the events of the day, his expression blank. His arms were crossed over his chest and his brows were brought close together in thought as he sat on the seat of the train he was taking home that evening. Next to him, Nagisa was watching his companion curiously, wondering why he was so silent- he'd been that way ever since the swim practice, actually.<p>

"What's wrong, Rei-chan?" Nagisa finally inquired, tilting his head at the bluenette. What could he be thinking about that had him so serious?

"I don't understand." Rei responded simply, his expression unchanging, though his eyes slid over to Nagisa when the blonde had called out to him.

"What don't you understand?" Nagisa asked.

"Gou-san's brother." Rei elaborated. "Why did he suddenly decide to swim the relay?"

"Hm... I'm not entirely sure, but racing Rin-chan again has gotten Haru-chan motivated,so it's a good thing, right?" Nagisa stated logically. While he did make some semblance of sense, that answer wasn't solid enough for Rei.

"What if he loses again?"

"Winning isn't everything."

"You made me run around the summer festival to make sure they wouldn't meet." Rei pointed out, his eye twitching slightly as he recalled that difficult experience.

"Detective Rei-chan did great work." Nagisa joked lightly, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Stop joking around!" Rei huffed in exasperation, clearly not in the mood. "Why does it matter who's involved in their relay? Our goal is to make it to nationals as the Iwatobi Swim Club."

"I know." Nagisa sighed, his tone placating. He understood Rei's frustration- he really did- but he just didn't know how to explain things to the Ryugazaki. To someone like Rei, whose mindset was focused on balance and theoretical proofs, he wouldn't be satisfied unless there was a validly reasonable explanation. And Nagisa honestly couldn't think of one that would seem logical- the only thing he wanted out of this whole situation was to swim with Rin again.

"But everyone keeps talking about 'Rin-chan'." Rei muttered to himself, reigning in his attitude once again as he realized how unreasonable it was to lash out at the Hazuki. That didn't stop his feelings of frustration, however, and he returned his gaze to the window opposite his seat as he got lost in his thoughts again. Why was Rin Matsuoka so important to all of them? Why would he mean so much that they would be willing to forgive all that he had done just like that? Why did they still treat Rin... like a member of their team?

"I don't understand."

And he was tired of not knowing.

* * *

><p>Byakuya lay on her back on the couch in her living room, hugging a small, square pillow to her chest as she stared at the spinning ceiling fan. She'd normally be doing something more productive with her spare time, but right now she couldn't really think straight. Opposite the couch, the TV screen was on and the programme was currently playing some sort of drama series, but quite frankly, Byakuya doubted it was hardly as interesting as her current situation.<p>

Just thinking about the kiss that night and the feeling of Makoto holding her so close to him made her face heat up immediately, and Byakuya quickly buried her face into her pillow as she screamed into it, kicking her feet slightly as she did so. She realized it was beyond childish for her to do that, but seriously, what else could she do? She became a blubbering train wreck when she liked a guy, let alone received her first kiss! And now said guy was ignoring her and pretending she didn't exist? What the heck was going on?

Byakuya screamed some more into her pillow, before she allowed herself to become limp again and dropped her pillow onto her torso. She didn't get it- had she done something wrong? Did Makoto suddenly regret his move? Just what did that kiss mean?

Letting out a long, tired groan of frustration, Byakuya rolled onto her side, her hands clutching the pillow again as she rested her chin on it. She wanted to believe that Makoto could possibly return her feelings, but the way he was going about now made her utterly confused. And in the case that he did like her... what should she do if he did? They still had so much to do; so many things to settle... was this the right time?

The sound of someone knocking on her front door broke Byakuya out of her thoughts, and she frowned for a moment before tossing her pillow onto the couch and getting up to answer the door. She wasn't expecting any guests today... could it be-

Haruka.

Damn this world for getting her hopes up.

Peering through the peephole, it had taken a moment for Byakuya to recognize that the elongated figure she was seeing was actually the Nanase boy- she never did understand why peepholes had to distort the images of the people standing outside. Who in their right mind would even let someone in if they actually looked like the image they saw? As she mused over this topic in her head, Byakuya unlocked the door without hesitation, opening it up to greet the boy standing on the porch.

"Haru-kun." She greeted the raven-haired boy casually- trying not to sound too disappointed as she did so. "What brings you here this fine Saturday evening?"

"I need you to come with me." Haruka stated calmly. Byakuya just raised an eyebrow at his order.

"What?" She asked in confusion. Where could he possibly want her to go? Haruka just met her gaze passively, his tone unwavering as he answered.

"We're settling this today."

"Eh?"

* * *

><p>"Are they here yet?" Ran asked impatiently, trying to look past her brother and at the window in their room that overlooked the front porch. The girl tried standing on her tiptoes, but her twin was still hogging most of the space, much to her annoyance.<p>

"Not yet..." Ren replied, noticeably more patient than his sister- he was always the more levelheaded of the two. Suddenly, he seemed to perk up, and a grin crossed his face as he gave a small jump of excitement, prompting his sister to grow curious as well as she attempted to push him aside and get a glimpse. "Wait! I see them!"

"Let's go, then!" Ran exclaimed eagerly, racing towards the stairs to get to the front door. As she and her brother passed Makoto's room, however, they slowed down a little, tiptoeing past the door so that they wouldn't alert their older brother. As soon as they passed by, they immediately began running again, being careful not to trip as they did so. When they reached the front door, their nimble little hands went to work as they cooperated in unlocking the door, making as little noise as possible.

In less than five seconds, the front door of the door opened up, interrupting Byakuya just as she'd been saying something along the lines of "...no way they're gonna coopera-"

"Byaku-nee! Haru-chan!" The twins exclaimed cheerfully- though they kept their voices lower than they normally would have as they threw their arms around their two favourite teens- besides their brother, of course.

"Uh, hey, kiddos." Byakuya replied unsurely, patting the kids' heads awkwardly. Evidently, she hadn't been expecting them to open up. It was understandable- they were Makoto's siblings, after all, and she'd thought they would side with their brother instead of her in this grand 'plan' of Haruka's.

"Thank you for your help." Haruka thanked the twins as he and Byakuya entered the house, before subtly handing them something... was that cash?

"No problem!" Ran chirped, accepting the 'incentive' Haruka had promised when he'd gotten the twins to work with him.

"Are you bribing these kids?!" Byakuya hissed under her breath, staring at Haruka with her eyes wide disbelief. Haruka had explained that he'd get Ren and Ran to help her talk to Makoto alone, but she never would've guessed that he would be willing to go that far- especially with these kids. They were just in elementary school, for crying out loud! They were too young to be getting into bribery!

"I need you two to get your brother's guard down. Make sure he's alone." Haruka told Ren and Ran solemnly, not bothering to respond to Byakuya's horrified exclamation. "And don't let him know Byakuya's here."

"Mm!" The twins nodded enthusiastically, before bounding up the stairs once more. They were all too eager to help- they were being paid, after all.

"You did all this just to give me a chance to speak to Mako alone?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow at Haruka. She never would've thought the Nanase would be concerned enough to do this for her...

"Your moping was getting annoying." Haruka responded simply, though he turned his head away. Byakuya gave a small smirk at that- Haruka still wasn't one to openly admit his true intentions and feelings.

"Thanks, Haru-kun." Byakuya said sincerely, patting his shoulder in appreciation. The boy just shot her a seemingly frustrated glance, as if he was annoyed at having to be the middle man in this mess. Upon seeing this, Byakuya's smile widened slightly... before her face fell as she suddenly remembered something.

"Wait... did he tell you?" Byakuya blanched, realizing that she had forgotten a very important detail. If Haruka knew that she and Mako were avoiding each other... then that must mean that he knew about the kiss. He knew that his two childhood friends had kissed.

...

Well, that must be awkward for him.

"Just settle this quickly." Haruka responded vaguely, before he turned on his heel, heading out of the Tachibana household once more. There was no need for him to answer that question- she knew the answer as well as he did, after all- and his job was done. Now the rest was up to them.

Makoto would just have to forgive him for this- it was for his own good.

"He's in his room now, Byaku-nee!" Ran informed as she came down the stairs again, grinning up at the older girl. She was getting tired of seeing her brother and Byakuya not hanging out like they used to, so she hadn't really required much coaxing to get involved in the plan. That didn't stop her from accepting Haruka's money when he'd offered it, though.

"T-Thanks, Ran." Byakuya patted the young girl's head appreciatively, recovering from her bout of awkwardness. She then took a deep breath, before she headed up the stairs- it was now or never, then.

She barely needed to think twice as her feet brought her up to Makoto's room- she had done this so many times the directions just came automatically to her. The door to his room was slightly ajar- not closed and locked like it had been the last couple of times she'd been here- and she quietly opened it a bit wider as she peered inside. Sure enough, Makoto and Ren were inside, the former digging through his closet as Ren glanced over at Byakuya and shot her a grin.

"Are you sure you put it here?" Makoto asked as he crouched down in front of his closet. His back was to her, but Byakuya could clearly see that his hair was slightly dishevelled, and that his glasses were almost sliding down his nose.

Crap. He looked adorable. Byakuya really didn't need to notice that right now.

"Yep! Absolutely!" Ren replied, quietly scuffling over to the door as he made his quick escape. The boy grinned at Byakuya as he walked past- he wasn't too proud that he was tricking his brother, but if it would help Makoto and Byakuya make up, he would do it. Plus, Ran hadn't let him weasel out of it.

"Hm, that's strange. I don't remember seeing it." Makoto muttered to himself, finally standing up and shutting the closet door. He hadn't been able to find the toy that Ren had supposedly left in here, and he turned around to tell him as such. "Are you sure you didn't-"

One could imagine Makoto's surprise when instead of seeing his brother before him, he came face to face with those familiar hazel eyes. Now, either Ren had acquired a major growth spurt and had somehow acquired very feminine features within the few seconds Makoto had his back turned, or the person standing before him was actually...

"Mako." Byakuya greeted, her expression serious as she folded her arms across her chest. Uh oh- Makoto knew that stance; she was mad.

"B-Byaku-chan!" Makoto responded shakily, nearly jumping out of his skin as he realized that she was actually here, alone with him. This was bad- this was the exact situation he'd been trying to avoid all week! "Uhm, I-I didn't expect to see you here?" He justified weakly, trying to back away slowly. However, his attempts were halted as his back hit something hard- crud! He'd forgotten that his closet was behind him! Now what?

"Mako, we have to talk about it sooner or later." Byakuya sighed heavily, reaching up to rub her forehead. Makoto's hand twitched instinctively, but he forced his arm to remain still and to not halt her actions.

"W-we don't have to if you don't want to-"

"Mako." Byakuya cut Makoto off, the flash of annoyance in her expression silencing the Tachibana immediately. "You don't just kiss a girl and ignore her for nearly a week."

"...I know." Makoto murmured in response, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. He felt a bit guilty- he'd been so worried about his own insecurity and confusion that he had neglected her feelings. "But I'm really sor-"

"Don't," Byakuya interrupted, holding up her index finger for silence. Makoto shut his mouth immediately. "Don't apologize. There's nothing to be sorry for." Here, Byakuya paused for a moment before she continued cautiously. "Unless of course, you regret what happened..."

"N-no!" Makoto exclaimed immediately, pushing himself off the closet as he waved his arms in disagreement. That was the last thing he needed her to think. "That's not it at all!"

"Then why have you been avoiding me like the plague?" Byakuya huffed, her voice exasperated. She was wearing a frown and tilting her head at him again, and Makoto could practically feel himself giving in to that look.

"I'm sor-"

"I said don't apologize." Byakuya interrupted again.

"Right." Makoto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, trying to think of an explanation for his behaviour. "It's just.. that- that kiss just... happened. I don't know how to say it..."

"It was an accident?"

"No! I meant to do it!" Makoto interjected quickly, before he registered what he'd said and his face started turning red. "W-well, it's not like I actually planned to- it was sort if a spur of the moment thing, and-"

"Let's make this simple." Byakuya cut Makoto off again before he could start rambling, and she looked him dead in the eye. "Makoto Tachibana, did you or did you not willingly and intentionally kiss me last Saturday night?"

"I did." Makoto affirmed quickly. Though he was worried about making things complicated between them, he had to make his intentions clear, at least.

"Then that's all I need to know." Byakuya shut her eyes briefly, satisfied at the response. As long as she knew that he wasn't avoiding her because it he thought he had made a mistake, then she was happy.

"...Are you mad?" Makoto asked hesitantly as he observed the girl's expression, being extremely cautious of her response. Now was the moment of truth- whether or not he would be rejected was up to her response...

"Of course not." Byakuya waved it off, though Makoto swore he saw her cheeks tinting pink. "Actually... I'm sort of happy it was you."

"Eh?" Makoto blinked in surprise.

"My first kiss, that is." Byakuya mumbled, coughing into her fist as she averted her gaze. "But I don't care what Nagi-kun said- no one needs to know about this. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Makoto nodded, suddenly feeling a huge sense of relief at how casual she was being about this. Did that mean she wasn't turning him down?

"Pinky swear?" Byakuya asked, holding out her pinky as she faced Makoto again. The boy was startled out of his briefly dazed state at the request, before a smile slowly crossed his face.

"Pinky swear." He affirmed, hooking her pinky with his own, though he kept their fingers interlocked for a few moments longer than necessary. He cast his emerald eyes up to meet Byakuya's brown ones, relieved to see a smile pulling at her own lips. It looked like things were going to go back to normal between them again- that was a huge relief. Makoto didn't know if he would have been able to take it if he had to keep up the 'stay away from the Shion' game for even another day.

He truly wanted to say more- wanted to tell her how he really felt. But he couldn't. There were too many other things that needed to be done right now- too many things to focus on. But most of all... he wasn't ready yet. There was still a part of him- a part of all of them, really- that had to be filled before he could take that step. They had to set things right with their team again, and he had a feeling that Byakuya knew it too, given that she hadn't questioned the motive behind his kiss- dense though she was, even she had to understand what the action meant. But despite all this, he decided he would bide his time, and wait for the right moment to confess. It didn't matter how long it would take... because his feelings would never change.

He liked Byakuya Shion. He really, really liked her. And he had a feeling that this was inevitable from the start.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Nothing much to say bout this chapter except hooray for wingman Haru! \o **

**On a side note- I'm pretty certain Sousuke's animal mascot would be a manta ray. Tbh, I kinda like the dude. Sure, he was super douchey when he threatened Haru, but he did it out of obligation and friendship to Rin. He just didn't know the full story- simply assuming that Rin had missed out good chance to be scouted out and reach his dream because Haru and the others dragged him into a relay. (I have too much of a bleeding heart for the misunderstood antagonists whai)**

**Shout out to Mazgrl98, MyFriendsAreMyPower, trunksgf96, Shizuka Kitsune, Heavenly Condemned, theshrewdravenclaw, Hayashida-M, AntiSocialCousin, Pumbie, InnocentSerenade, Peaceful Watcher Soul, Crystalmaiden62, Fairy Skull, szynka2496, minimousestar, tcurren, livelaughluvmusic, KinakoMochi, Bunnifer16 and Genius Pineapple for all supporting this horribly awkward writer! You all rock!**


	48. Chapter 48

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

If anyone asked her, Byakuya was pretty sure that if she gathered all the sweat she lost on a sunny day, she would be able to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool and swim around in it like some twisted version of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Maybe even sing a song along the lines of "under the sweat" while she was at it. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the fact that she didn't have an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and the fact that the thought was admittedly kinda gross. But it was still an idea- one that she was honestly contemplating now as she sat in the sweltering living room of Coach Sasabe's house that Sunday, which was made even more humid by the boiling hot pot sitting in the middle of the table.

Byakuya could practically feel herself melting away like butter. What the heck was wrong with this coach?

"Why are we having a hot pot in the middle of summer?" Makoto deadpanned, staring at the pot of boiling red soup sitting on the portable stove. He could literally see the steam emanating from the crimson soup as it bubbled, and the eyes of the crab boiling inside it seemed to be gazing at him almost mockingly as if it were laughing at the torture they were all going through from the ridiculous heat. Haruka and the others wore similar expressions of apprehension on their faces, and even Kou did a double take as she carried a tray of drinks into the room, suddenly feeling a lot more hesitant about entering now that she could feel the heat.

"Because that's what sports medicine recommends for swimmers!" Goro explained simply, looking far too pleased with himself.

"Sports medicine can go suck an egg." Byakuya muttered, tugging the collar of her white sports jersey. She was starting to regret her choice of clothing- white made her sweat stains really visible.

"Don't complain. This is my special Sasabe Hot Pot with plenty of protein and minerals!" The coach continued as he grabbed a pair of long, wooden chopsticks to stir the contents of the clay pot.

"Can you at least turn on the air conditioning?" Nagisa pleaded, looking as if he was about to faint at any moment. The boy was using his arms for support while he sat on the tatami-covered floor, his limbs limp from the fatigue induced by the high temperature. To his left, even Rei looked a bit skeptical.

"No such thing." Sasabe replied simply. Electricity was costly these days.

"Can we not do this?" Rei protested weakly, looking for all the world like he wanted to sprint out the open shogi doors behind him. Even if they would only lead to Sasabe's backyard, he could always climb over the wall or something.

"Why would you say that?" Sasabe retorted, seemingly offended. Using a ladle, he scooped a bowl of soup for Rei, before switching to his chopsticks again as he picked out some of the more solid contents of the hot pot and dumped it into the same bowl. He then handed the bowl to the bespectacled boy insistently. "I promise that it's good, so eat up."

"If you insist..." Rei sighed, reluctantly accepting the bowl. He couldn't be rude to his current host, after all- even if he questioned his logic right now.

"Bya-kun, can I borrow one of your hair ties?" Nagisa asked, turning to the dark-haired girl sitting next to the coach. Byakuya just grunted before unhooking the spare hair band she wore around her wrist, slinging it across the table to the blonde. Nagisa caught it perfectly, and grinned victoriously before grabbing his long, curly bangs in his other hand. As he proceeded to tie his bangs up on his head, Coach Sasabe did the honours of dishing out the bowls of hot pot to the six teens and Miss Amakata- all of whom stared apprehensively at the food they were given.

Eventually, Miss Amakata- deciding that she should encourage her students to eat the food they were given so graciously by being the first to try a bite- hesitantly grabbed a piece of fish from her own bowl with her chopsticks, blowing lightly on it before placing it into her mouth. At first, the heat made her grimace slightly, but once her taste buds kicked in...

"Wow, it really is good!" The young teacher exclaimed, placing her fingers over her lips in mild surprise.

"See?" Coach Sasabe asked proudly. Those kids really needed to learn how to trust his judgement. The Literature teacher's assessment seemed to encourage the others to try their own bowls, and Sasabe's face only grew even more smug when he saw their hesitant express change as they had their first taste. Nagisa especially was hooked- he just kept going at the pot with such vigour one would think he was starving.

"Oh! This is a tomato hot pot!" Kou enthused, pleasantly surprised at how good the dish tasted. Normally, hot pots were made with clear soup, so this was a rare treat.

"We came up with this when I was in the swim club!" Goro elaborated proudly. His swim club days had been the best days of his life, and he was all too eager to share some of his stories with the new generation of members of that same club.

"Right- you're a former Iwatobi Swim Club member, aren't you, Sasabe-san?" Miss Amakata mused.

"Yes, and I was the last swim club member. We couldn't find any new members, so it was abolished after I graduated." Sasabe elaborated.

"Interesting." Byakuya muttered. So they abolished the club when there weren't any more members? It must have been pretty lonely for the old coach back then- it was no wonder he had sounded so wistful when he had gone to see the old swim club building getting torn down. He'd been in that situation once before, as well...

"This really works up a sweat." Makoto commented idly, sighing as he wiped away the sweat on his brow with the back of his hand. Haruka nodded in agreement- the heat really kicked the already hot weather up a notch.

"If this was a cold day, we'd probably enjoy this a lot more." Byakuya agreed, moving to re-tie her hair into a messy bun as she felt some of the strands sticking to her neck. However, given how much she was perspiring, the sweat made her skin semi-visible through the white fabric. And every time she made even the slightest move, the fabric of her shirt moved with the action as it clung to her damp torso.

It took all of Makoto's self restraint to not stare. And was it just him, or did it suddenly get a lot hotter in here?

"We brought the swim club back, so you should have been coaching us since earlier!" Nagisa pointed out- his pout would have been far more sympathy-inducing if he wasn't speaking through a mouthful of food. As he spoke, his chopsticks automatically went to grab a piece of crab from Rei's bowl, catching the bluenette off-guard.

"Hey!" Rei exclaimed indignantly. His protest was ignored, however, as Nagisa just continued to bite away at his 'conquest'. The boy could really eat.

"I was busy with my pizza delivery job." Sasabe shrugged, fishing through the hot pot with his own chopsticks. He then pulled out a stuffed squid from the pot, offering it to the teens. "Here- there's rice inside."

"Give it to me!" Nagisa volunteered immediately, holding out his bowl eagerly. However, as Goro tried to place the item into his bowl, the distance between them as they sat across the table from each other was miscalculated on the coach's part, and he released the squid too soon. As a result, the stuffed squid ended up bouncing off the rim of Nagisa's bowl, splashing back into the boiling soup inside the pot.

"Woah!" Nagisa sprang back from the table as the soup splashed out of the pot, narrowly avoiding being hit by the hot liquid. As he did so, however, his back hit the low drawer behind him, knocking down several magazines that had been sitting atop its tabletop.

"Oh no!" Miss Amakata exclaimed, quickly standing from her place as she approached the blonde, who was rubbing the back of his head- he must have hit his head when he leapt back like that.

"Sorry! You okay?" Coach Sasabe asked concernedly, putting aside his chopsticks as he went forth to assist the boy. Given that it was his own mishap that had caused such a thing to happen, he would feel rather guilty if Nagisa had hurt himself because of him. Thankfully, the blonde just waved it off, assuring that he was mostly alright.

"What are these?" Nagisa inquired as he removed his hand from his head, picking up one of the fallen items. Miss Amakata had knelt down near the boy's position, retrieving the magazines that were currently scattered all over the floor.

"Really old magazines?" Haruka suggested, eyeing the covers of the reading materials. They all depicted female models on the front, modelling everything from evening gowns to swimsuits.

"Coach Sasabe, are you the type who doesn't like to throw this stuff away?" Makoto asked curiously, honestly wondering if the old coach was the sentimental type- even if the subject of these magazines were a bit... different, so to speak. The coach wasn't particularly inclined to answer, and instead shuffled over to assist Miss Amakata in picking up the magazines.

"Oh, it's okay- I'll clean it up." Sasabe reassured the young teacher, though she continued to help him anyway. As he gathered the magazines, however, the stand fan in the corner of the room happened to blast their way, flipping the pages of one of the lighter magazines. The coach's eyes were automatically drawn to the movement, and he made to close the magazine before he froze in disbelief. The pages that were being fluttered open by the wind each depicted an attractive young brunette who was modelling various swimsuit designs. With the wavy brown hair and wide, chestnut eyes, she looked very familiar...

"Here you go, Sasabe-san." Miss Amakata's voice caught the coach's attention, prompting him to look up as he retrieved the magazine that had caught his eye. The teacher was holding out the last of the fallen magazines to him- ironically mimicking the pose that the magazine page had stopped on.

There was no doubt about it now- Miss Amakata was the model in the magazine. And Coach Sasabe knew all too well who she was...

"Ma-" Goro stuttered out, his eyes wide as he raised the magazine to compare the similarities between the model on the page and the woman before him now. When Miss Amakata realized just what Coach Sasabe was holding up, her hackles raised immediately- crap! "Marin-chan-"

Miss Amakata didn't hesitate. She shot to her feet and screeched loudly, pointing at the hot pot on the table to distract her students before they could notice what the coach was holding up.

"The crab's on fire!" Miss Amakata shrieked, her shrilly tone enough to divert the teens' attentions to the pot. Taking advantage of the situation, Miss Amakata quickly snatched the magazine out of Coach Sasabe's hands, shoving it beneath all the other magazines and dumping them back on the drawer before anyone could notice.

"...No it isn't." Kou turned back to Miss Amakata with a raised eyebrow. Was the teacher feeling alright?

"Nagisa-kun, are you okay?" Rei asked, deciding to return to the matter at hand. That knock the blonde had received had looked sort of painful...

"I'm fine! I have a thick skull!" Nagisa reassured, waving his hand nonchalantly.

"You realize that's an insult." Haruka deadpanned.

"It is?" Nagisa exclaimed, before he spun around to face Byakuya. "Bya-kun, you lied to me!"

"What else was I supposed to do if I wanted to keep calling you that?" Byakuya shrugged, not seeming all that guilty. Before Nagisa could respond to that, however, Kou interjected with a small exclamation.

"Ah!" Kou started, before pointing at the front of Byakuya's white jersey. "Byakuya-chan, some of it got onto your shirt!"

"It did?" Byakuya immediately looked down, and- much to her chagrin- realized that Kou was right. The Shion tugged at the front of her lightly-splattered shirt and sighed, before shrugging casually. "Well, it's no problem. I'll just wash it when I get back."

"It's better if you soak it sooner, though. This stuff stains." Sasabe corrected, having regained his composure from his earlier discovery. He would just have to return to that topic when it was safer- it was evident that Marin- no, Miss Amakata- didn't want her students to know just what her previous occupation was.

"For real?" Byakuya frowned at her terrible luck, before glancing back at the coach. "Do you have any old shirts or something I could borrow?"

"Hang on," Makoto interjected, before he shrugged off the navy blue, button-up shirt that he was wearing over his plain green tee. He then handed the apparel to the Shion girl, who suddenly looked extremely flustered. "You can change into this."

"Y-you sure?" Byakuya inquired hesitantly.

"Absolutely. Go ahead." Makoto reassured, ignoring the cheeky grin that Nagisa was shooting him from the corner of his eye.

"Thanks..." Byakuya reluctantly accepted the shirt- she didn't know just why this was making her so flustered, but it did. Standing up from the table, she exited the room quickly to hide her sudden embarrassment, throwing a quick "I'll be right back" over her shoulder.

As Byakuya left, Makoto had to take a deep breath to hold back the sigh of complete and utter relief. He didn't tell her that he had immediately offered his own shirt partially for his own comfort; at least he wouldn't have a reason to keep staring anymore, or worse- to be caught doing so. Makoto silently thanked Coach Sasabe for fumbling with that squid and splashing that soup everywhere. For once, he was in luck.

...

When Byakuya returned, Makoto realized he may have made a big mistake. His shirt was way too big and was practically hanging off her, whereas the sleeves- which only just covered his elbows on him- nearly reached her wrists. The collar was also too wide and sat unevenly on her shoulders- with one side pulled up to her neck and the other lying flat on her shoulder.

In other words, she looked adorable. And it may just have been harder for Makoto not to stare at her compared to before. Especially when the first thing she did when she came in was tug at the collar, sniff lightly, and grin sheepishly at him as she said...

"It smells like you."

In response, Makoto just turned his head in the other direction, subtly covering the lower half of his face with a hand as he tried as hard as he could to restrain the rising colour in his cheeks. He really couldn't catch a break.

* * *

><p>"It's lit now!" Nagisa announced cheerily as he held up his now-lit sparkler in the backyard of the Sasabe household. The end of the stick was lit and bursting with small showers of light, casting a light glow over the blonde's grinning face in the dimness of the late evening. The boy then spun around with a mischievous glint in his eye, before running up to his blue-haired fellow underclassman- all the while aiming the lit end of the sparkler at the Ryugazaki. "Look, Rei-chan!"<p>

"H-hey! Don't point that at me!" Rei exclaimed fearfully, dashing away from the oncoming Hazuki. Much to his dismay- and the amusement of the others- Nagisa pursued him, all the while grinning like the little monkey that he was.

"Fly high, Butterfly!" Byakuya jested, a sly and somewhat amused smirk tugging at her lips.

"That quote is hardly appropriate now!" Rei yelled back in response, not once slowing down as he was chased by his relentless classmate. Byakuya just grinned lightly at his response, before turning her attention back to her own- currently unlit- sparkler stick. Haruka had only just lighted his own, and was currently lending his flame to Makoto as the Tachibana placed the end of his sparkler to the burning end of Haruka's. Once the firework caught flame and began to emit its bright fizzles of light, Makoto pulled it away to appraise it wistfully.

"I haven't done fireworks in a long time." He commented, before offering his lit sparkler to Byakuya for her to light her own.

"Me neither." Haruka responded, his eyes never moving from the shower of glittery sparks that were emitted from the firework. Byakuya just nodded idly as she lit her sparkler, flicking her hand in zigzag motions to produce a pattern in midair. She'd missed these things.

"There was one time you burned yourself while playing with fireworks, right?" Makoto asked suddenly, catching the Shion's attention.

"Huh?" Byakuya started at being addressed all of a sudden, and glanced up briefly at Makoto's smiling face. "Ah, yep. Still have the scar." She wriggled the fingers of her left hand in midair for emphasis, displaying the scar that marred part of her palm since she was nine. "It was my own fault. Didn't expect the fuse to ignite so quickly."

"It wouldn't have happened if you had listened and stayed away from the more volatile fireworks." Haruka responded monotonously. Their parents had told them to avoid the explosive fireworks and to just stick to sparklers, but the Shion had gone on ahead and defied the orders anyway. Byakuya never was one to conform to the rules, even if she had mellowed out over the years.

"No one listens to adults anyway." Byakuya huffed defensively.

"You'll be one yourself in another year or so." Makoto corrected.

"I'm not even going to think about that- at the very least, not until I actually turn 17." Byakuya groaned, the thought of becoming an official adult was a depressing thought. All those teenage privileges would be gone in a flash, just like that.

"That's right- your birthday is in another month." Makoto mused. He had better get her gift ready in time by then...

"Yep." Byakuya sighed, leaning her head against the wooden pillar supporting the porch roof. "Hooray for getting older."

"I don't think it's all that bad." Makoto responded. "You get to do more things when you're an adult."

"You also get more work." Byakuya muttered.

"That's really the main thing that bugs you most, isn't it?" Makoto chuckled. Even after all they'd been through, nothing could convince the Shion to enjoy undertaking tasks she didn't want to unless she did it out of obligation.

"Of course." Byakuya scoffed lightly in response. She made to say more, when an old memory resurfaced at the topic they were discussing...

_"What do you wanna do when you're grown up?"_

"Byaku-chan?" Makoto called out, halting Byakuya's train of thought for a moment. The girl blinked in surprise at being addressed, before quickly regaining her composure.

"It's nothing." Byakuya replied hastily, smiling lightly at her friend before glancing back at the sparkler in her grasp. It was burning down already, but she barely noticed as she just stared into the fizzing and bursting sparks of light, allowing her mind to wander once again.

"They're just fireworks. You're not supposed to think so hard on them." Makoto commented lightly, trying to get her attention once again. He knew that distant expression- she was thinking about something that was troubling her again.

"Yeah, yeah." Byakuya brushed off the comment, apparently not heeding his words. Makoto frowned slightly as she did that- despite her lighthearted tendencies, Byakuya had a terrible habit of thinking too long and too hard on something that crossed her mind- often at the most peculiar times. She really had to learn to just relax and unwind- get her mind off things...

Maybe he could help with that.

Byakuya nearly jumped out of her skin when Makoto suddenly brought his feet up onto the wooden porch and tucked them in, before lying his head down in her lap as he shut his eyes and made himself comfortable. What... what the heck?!

"What are you doing?" Byakuya squeaked out, her voice a lot more timid than she would have liked. Haruka merely spared the two a glance out of the corner of his eye for a moment, before he just looked away and lit another sparkler for himself.

"Distracting you from thinking so much." Makoto replied casually, opening one eye as he grinned playfully up at her. "Is it working?"

"You idiot." Byakuya scowled, forcing down the sudden blush that was creeping up her neck. She wanted to move her lap out from under him, but at the same time... she didn't want to hurt his feelings, or his head.

Damn this boy for messing her up.

"That's a 'yes', then." Makoto concluded victoriously, before he opened both eyes and reached up, brushing his fingers lightly over her cheek. "Your face is red."

"It is not!" Byakuya denied huffily, swatting his hand away.

"But I think it's cute." Makoto smiled, bringing his hand back to her face and allowing it to linger there. If her blush became any redder, he was worried she may just combust.

"Do you have to be so embarrassing?" Byakuya asked in exasperation, feeling lightheaded from all the blood that was rushing to her face. For all his otherwise shy tendencies, Makoto could be very forthcoming when he wanted to be. She had a sneaking suspicion he did this on purpose just to watch her get embarrassed, too...

"Only around you." The Tachibana responded cheekily.

"You need to stop saying those kind of things. Haru-kun might throw up." Byakuya deadpanned.

"I'll hold it back until I get home- unlike you two." Haruka replied, his tone dry. If there was ever a moment he really wished he was anywhere else but here, it was now. Words could not describe how perturbed he felt at watching his best friend flirting with his best girl friend. He didn't know which was worse- watching them hit on each other, or watching them timidly getting close before scooting back again. There was no win-win situation here.

"You cheeky bastard." Byakuya growled at the Nanase, feeling a vein in her tenple throbbing. Just when she thought she could rely on her other best friend to get her out of this situation, he went and said something like that...

"Hey, if you two are gonna kiss, do it already!" Nagisa yelled from where he was crouching in the yard- another of his sparklers had burned out and he was taking a short break from terrorizing Rei. He wore an exasperated pout on his lips as he stared pointedly at the Tachibana and Shion, both of whom froze up at his comment.

"Don't be so crude, Nagisa-kun!" Rei reprimanded- even he felt somewhat flustered at Nagisa's blunt insinuation. This kid really knew no limits when it came to verbal boundaries.

"But they haven't even kissed yet!" Nagisa complained. What he didn't know, however, was that the comment had done more than just fluster the two teens- it was a sudden reminder that they had indeed done the act that Nagisa had spoken of, yet still hadn't told anyone...

Well, except one. Byakuya definitely didn't miss the low scoff Haruka emitted under his breath. Wouldn't they like to know...

"It's taking forever! Do we have to lock them in a room before they get any action?" Nagisa continued unabashedly. At that, Byakuya's head snapped up and she glared at the Hazuki, though she was mostly ignored. Makoto's eye was twitching as he deadpanned, wondering just where on earth Nagisa was getting all of this from.

"There isn't any need to take such drastic measures. You've been watching too many movies, Nagisa-kun." Rei sighed, pushing his glasses up. He was struggling to maintain a straight face now, though it would seem that even his face was reddening from all of his friend's comments.

"But then Bya-kun's sex appeal will never be put to use-"

"Oi! We're right here, you know!" Byakuya snapped, cutting off Nagisa before he could finish that sentence. Makoto- still lying in Byakuya's lap- looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. So this was what it was like to be on the receiving end of the embarrassment instead of the other way around...

"You were supposed to hear that!" Nagisa retorted cheekily.

"Could you stop making such crude innuendos?"

"Could you stop being such a prude?"

"...Mako, could you please sit up for just a minute?" Byakuya suddenly asked sweetly, though the venomous intent underlying her voice was enough warning.

"Try not to do too much damage." Makoto suggested to her, sitting up from his previous position. It was a pity- he'd been rather comfortable.

"I'll try." Byakuya shrugged, cracking her knuckles as she stood up. Mako had a feeling she wasn't going to listen to him.

"N-Nagisa-kun, I think you should start r-"

But before Rei could finish his sentence, Nagisa let out a terrified scream before he started bolting across the yard, a dangerously quick-footed Byakuya on his tail. It looked like those morning jogs were doing something for her- she was definitely faster than Rei remembered... or she was just fueled by her thirst for vengeance. That could be it, too. The bluenette just sighed- he was far more accustomed to this behaviour than he should have been.

Back in the living room, just behind the open shogi doors leading to the yard, Miss Amakata and Coach Sasabe both sat at the table, eating slices of watermelon that the coach had graciously cut for them to enjoy. The two of them were relatively silent as they ate- Miho simply finding no need to speak, while Goro was trying to think of a way to voice his thoughts. When he finally got the courage to speak up...

"I-I was told that your previous job involved swimsuits, but I never thought... no wonder you looked so familiar." Sasabe stuttered slightly, turning to face the young teacher with admiration glistening in his eyes. "I-I was a big fan, Marin-cha-"

SNAP!

The thick skin of the watermelon slice in Miss Amakata's hands suddenly snapped in half, the action having been induced by the teacher herself. The brunette slowly placed the snapped pieces of watermelon onto the table, her face bearing an eerily sweet smile.

"Not another word on the topic." Miho sang, though her tone was dark. "I'm sure you understand."

"Y-yes..." Goro sweatdropped nervously- it looked like he had best keep his mouth shut about that particular topic. The coach made to try and change the subject, but was interrupted when Kou suddenly called out.

"What's this, Coach Sasabe?"

The Matsuoka's voice caught the attention of the other teens sitting outside as well, and they all turned towards the living room again. Miss Amakata and Coach Sasabe both looked noticeably pale upon Kou's exclamation, and were gaping as they spun towards the redhead, who was clutching something in her hands.

"Huh? huh?" Nagisa took the opportunity to divert the Shion's attention from him, struggling to get a better look at what Kou had found. Much to his relief, it worked- Byakuya curiously turned around as well, momentarily distracted from the fact that both she and the Hazuki had been pulling at each other's hair and that he was currently yanking on her ear. "What's up?"

"Did you find something?" Makoto asked as well. Upon their inquiries, Kou grinned and dashed forth excitedly, toting the item she had found in her hands.

"W-wait, Matsuoka-san!" Miss Amakata stuttered out, her voice panicked. She had just been discussing with the coach how she would appreciate it if he never brought up the issue of her model days again, but if what Kou had found was what she thought it was, she was done for!

"Don't go snooping around!" Coach Sasabe exclaimed at the same time, attempting to stop the girl when he came to the same conclusion Miss Amakata had. However, Kou paid no heed to them, simply hopping up to her teammates as she brandished a deep blue photo album with the words 'Memory' printed across it in a lighter shade of cyan.

"It's a photo album of the swimming club!" Kou announced eagerly.

"Oh!" The five other members of the swim team's attentions were drawn to the album immediately- even Nagisa and Byakuya had disentangled themselves from their brawl to get a better look at the thing. Meanwhile, Miss Amakata and Coach Sasabe just let out a sigh of relief- so it wasn't what they had thought it was, after all...

"What did you two think it was, anyway?" Kou asked, glancing at the two adults curiously.

"Never mind that!" Sasabe replied quickly, trying to throw them off again. "Which album is this one?"

"Let's see!" Nagisa announced- for once, Goro was thankful for the blonde's enthusiasm. As they all eagerly peered over at the pages of the album...

"Oh! These bring back memories!" Nagisa commented cheerfully, his emerald eyes flickering from photo to photo as they flipped open to the first page of the photo album. One in particular caught his eye, and he pointed eagerly at it. "There's Gou-chan!"

Indeed it was. The picture depicted six kids, one of whom was a little, redheaded girl who clung onto the arm of a boy- judging from the similar hair colour and features, it was evident that they were siblings. The young Rin Matsuoka looked like he had been caught off guard by the girl's enthusiasm when the photo was taken, while a bright-eyed, excited looking blonde stood next to him, his fingers held out in a 'peace' sign as he grinned at the camera. To the left of the redhead, a dark-haired boy eyed the young Matsuoka girl with a hint of apprehension in his otherwise calm expression, and next to him was a taller lad with olive hair, who was smiling softly at the camera as he, too, folded his fingers into the 'peace' sign.

"Is this Shion-san?" Miss Amakata asked, gesturing to the tallest kid with short, sooty hair, who wore a closed-eyed grin as she looped an arm over Nagisa's shoulders.

"That's me." Byakuya confirmed.

"Your chest was so flat back then." Kou muttered, turning to look at Byakuya's current figure with an honestly perplexed expression. "How did-"

She didn't get to finish that sentence, as Byakuya clamped her hand over Kou's mouth and halted her speech- the Shion's expression was somewhere between annoyed and embarrassed. She only removed her hand when Kou licked it, making her yelp and retract her arm immediately before she glared at the redhead. The other guys pretended not to notice this mildly awkward exchange, and simply shifted their attention to another photo.

"This is when we had a barbecue behind the club!" Nagisa exclaimed, catching sight of a younger image of himself, Makoto, Haruka, Byakuya all standing amongst a crowd of other swim club members as they gathered around a barbecue pit- even Coach Sasabe, Aoi, and Coach Shion were in the picture. All of his friends were all munching on kebabs of barbecued meat- well, except Haru, who had chosen to eat an onigiri when this photo was taken, and had remained as blank-faced as usual.

"What? No one told me about that!" Kou complained. She loved barbecues, and they hadn't told her that they were having one back then?

"It was before Rin-chan transferred." Nagisa explained. That seemed to satisfy Kou a little- at least that was a proper excuse and that her brother hadn't deliberately kept her uninformed...

"Nanase-san looked so mature even back then." Miss Amakata commented, staring at the serious face of the raven-haired boy. He had barely changed at all...

"You're supposed to smile in pictures." Coach Sasabe reprimanded lightly- really, even he sometimes wondered if the Nanase had any other expressions besides that stone-like mask of his.

"Haru-chan's always smiling on the inside." Nagisa grinned, coming to Haruka's defense with his usual statement.

"Yep! A thousand-kilowatt grin, at that!" Byakuya added laughingly. Haruka- as usual- made no move to comment on that, but simply shot them a bored glance before focusing back on the album as they turned another page in the album.

"This is from the summer tournament back in fifth grade!" Makoto's eyes fell upon a photo of the members of the old swim club as they all gathered by what looked like an outdoor pool, several of whom were kneeling on the floor and brandishing certificates, medals and trophies- clearly, this was taken at a stadium after a tourney.

"Haru-chan won then too, didn't he?" Nagisa inquired, spotting a younger version of Haruka as he kneeled on the floor with a trophy sitting in front of him, lifting a certificate that declared him as first in the 100m free event. Next to him were a certain sibling duo- both of whom wore matching grins on their faces as they proudly lifted their medals for the camera to see. "Bya-kun and Ao-chan, as well."

"Huh?" Kou suddenly exclaimed in surprise, pointing at a space away from the crowd. Behind the large group of people serving as the main focus of the photo was a grinning, crimson-haired boy that had been caught mid-speech, standing with a bunch of his own friends. "Is that my brother?"

"We didn't know Rin yet." Haruka responded, answering the girl's indirect question.

"Wow, we met before we got to know each other!" Nagisa enthused. Talk about coincidences...

"Connected by the red string of fate." Miss Amakata quoted, relating the chance photo to the relationship they all shared now. It was as if they were destined to meet from the start.

"Do you call it that when it's between boys?" Kou asked skeptically, raising a brow at the young teacher. That caught her off-guard, as Miho suddenly scratched her cheek as she tittered lightly- the Matsuoka had a point.

"That kid..." Byakuya trailed off, squinting at a boy in the photo that stood with Rin's bunch, who bore dark hair and clear cyan eyes.

"You recognize him, Bya-kun?" Nagisa asked, following the Shion's line of sight curiously.

"I can't quite remem-" Suddenly, Byakuya cut herself off and she snapped her fingers, her memory kicking in again. "No, wait. He was in that relay back then."

"You remember that?" Makoto inquired, vaguely surprised.

"Yep. Butterfly swimmer for Sano SC. He was really good." Byakuya responded. That boy had been quite impressive- though not by much, her attention had been diverted somewhat from Rin's own butterfly leg of the race when she'd seen the guy swimming in the next lane. He'd nearly overtaken the Matsuoka back then, even with the extra ground Nagisa and Makoto had gained for their team...

"Ooh, careful, Mako-chan." Nagisa sang teasingly, a cheeky grin on his face. "You have competition."

"Does everything have to lead back to that?" Makoto sighed. Really, Nagisa had the wildest imagination.

"But it's true!" The Hazuki defended.

"If you ever get a girlfriend, I am going to feel so sorry for her." Byakuya muttered. "The poor girl that would get saddled with you..."

"That's not fair! You two are ganging up on me!"

"You started it."

"Oh, this is where Rin starts showing up." Coach Sasabe commented, deciding to cut in before those two could get into another banter. Their fights could go on for ages until one of then gave in- and neither teen was exactly the lenient kind.

"This is around when he transferred. It snowed hard that day and we all made snowmen." Makoto commented happily as he pointed at another photo. This one showed a whole bunch of kids- and the two coaches, as usual- engaged in snowman building. Some of the kids had even broken away from the usual snowman design and had gone for something different- in this case, Haruka had built a dolphin (as beautifully crafted as ever), while Rin had made a surfboard from the snow. The latter was smirking confidently at Haru, while the Nanase simply shot him an annoyed look in response. Makoto was simply smiling innocently like he always did as he assisted Haru in building his snow dolphin while Byakuya assisted Rin with his own creation. Nagisa just stood next to Rin, proudly holding up a miniature snowman that he had made.

"Oh, I remember that." Byakuya chuckled, fond memories returning to the front of her mind. "Rin-kun knocked my loose tooth out with a snowball."

"Your childhood was very accident-prone, wasn't it?" Kou pointed out, lightly taunting the Shion girl, who flushed slightly at the truth behind that statement.

"Now that you mention it..." Makoto laughed lightheartedly, reaching his hand over to pat Byakuya's head affectionately as she sat next to him. This time, Byakuya was too sheepish to brush his hand away.

"This was when you were training for the tournament. Rin was really fired up." Goro pointed out, gesturing to a picture that depicted the four relay swimmers as they clung to the poolside, while Byakuya simply sat on the edge of the pool and pulled faces at the camera. Haruka was just glancing off to the side- as usual, while the others all smiled brightly into the camera lens.

"That's so my brother." Kou scoffed good-naturedly, the memories of her bright, happy brother making her smile. He really was such a cheerful, enthusiastic kid back then- she was absolutely positive that some semblance of that still remained in him somewhere; a personality that bright could never be completely extinguished.

As they all reminisced about past memories that were spurred by the various photos lining the pages of the album, everyone failed to notice that a particular bluenette had remained silent all this while, not uttering a single word. Everyone, that is, except Haruka. The raven-haired teen slowly shifted his gaze over to the silent Ryugazaki, wondering why he was remaining more silent than he normally did. While it looked like Rei was simply watching all of them as they chatted happily, Haru noticed the distant expression in his violet eyes as he stoically gazed at the group. He wasn't part of this original bunch, and couldn't partake in any of their old reminiscences. But even so, this was peculiar behaviour for the Ryugazaki... or rather, it was all too familiar.

He was observing. Analyzing. Thinking.

And Haruka had a good feeling he knew what it was that was bugging Rei- the one name that kept being repeated over and over throughout this whole thing. The name of the one person that had caused so much strife for them, and yet still seemed to be thought of as a member of the team with the way they were all talking about him now. The name of the boy that had started it all.

Rin.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There isn't actually a cameo of <strong>**Sousuke**** in the picture of this episode, to be honest. I just thought it would make a nice ****twist-**** a Chekov's Gun of sorts to allude to the guy's appearance in season 2. I apologize for the minor deviation from canon ;P**

**Cyber huggles to Savage Kill, KinakoMochi, Mazgrl98(**thanks so much again for the artwork, yo! I'm still spazzing, haha!** ), MyFriendsAreMyPower, trunksgf96, LifeIsARayOfSunshine, uniquestarlight, awkward-person, LilaAnneRose, TripleL's (**Glad you like the story! And in response to your question: Rin does know that Byakuya's mom has passed on. How he found out will be revealed in the next chapter! I hope that answers your question for now! **), and that one Guest reviewer (** I'm honoured that you like this story and took the time to read this fic; especially since it's not your usual cup of tea! As for if I will be writing for season 2... I'm still not sure a about that, haha! Only time will tell xD)!** Thanks a heap, you guys!**


	49. Chapter 49

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

"That was fun! We should drop by again!" Nagisa enthused cheerfully, taking wide, prancing steps as he walked alongside his friends. They were all strolling casually along the beachfront road, making light conversation as they went on their way. They had all just left Coach Sasabe's place- since Kou lived near Miss Amakata's place, the teacher had offered to send her back, while the others just made their way to the train station.

"That hot pot was too hot." Makoto corrected jokingly, a lighthearted smile on his face as he spoke.

"But it tasted good." Nagisa pointed out, earning a knowing smile from the Tachibana. Nagisa was really quite simple and easy to please- sometimes Makoto doubted if there were any shades of grey seen through the younger boy's eyes. His views just seemed so clear and straightforward.

"Yeah. But my favourite jersey might be stained because of it." Byakuya added blandly, swinging the plastic bag containing her damp jersey- she had taken the coach's advice into account and had soaked it earlier on.

"But you got to wear Mako-chan's shirt, so don't pretend you don't enjoy it, Bya-kun!" Nagisa mocked, grinning impishly at the Shion, who bared her teeth and glared in him in response.

"One more comment like that and I'll hang you by your thumbs." She growled, deliberately avoiding looking at Makoto, whom she was sure was turning red. While the Tachibana was alright with lightly flustering her, he didn't take embarrassment too well himself.

"That's what you told Rin-chan once, but you didn't go through with it." Nagisa shrugged, turning back to face the front again as he pranced on, knowing the legitimacy behind his comment.

"Yeah. But I'll bet that permanent marker on his face served as a good substitute." Byakuya muttered, earning a lighthearted laugh from Nagisa as he recalled the incident. The look on Rin's face back then had been priceless- he had to admit that he'd been rather proud at being one of the assistants in the crime... even if Rin had looked ready to murder back then. Makoto gave another chuckle himself, before he remembered something.

"Hey, Rei-" However, Makoto cut himself off when he realized that Rei had stopped walking for a moment, and was several paces behind them. His pause had also gotten the attention of the others, who slowed to a stop and turned around to look at the bluenette as well. "What's wrong, Rei?"

For a few seconds, Rei remained silent, as if he was thinking hard on his response before he actually replied. There was an almost distressed expression mingling with the clear confusion evicted in his violet pools.

"...Just what happened between the five of you?" He asked, his tone almost frustrated. He had been thinking on this the whole time since they left Sasabe's house, and it was driving him mad not to know the whole truth.

"The five of us?" Nagisa asked, confused for a moment. "Are you talking about Rin-chan?"

"You were all so close in those pictures." Rei continued, confirming Nagisa's suspicions. "You all looked so happy."

"Well..." Makoto hesitated, his expression falling slightly as he did so. Even Nagisa was silent as he averted his eyes to the ground, unable to think of an answer to the Ryugazaki's question. There was so much to tell, and that question could have applied to any part of their long history with the Matsuoka boy...

"Rei." Much to everyone's surprise, it was Haruka that responded first, and Rei glanced at the Nanase upon being called. The expression on Haruka's face was even more solemn than usual as he addressed the younger boy, knowing that this whole situation was frustrating him to no end. "I'm not sure if there's any point in talking about this now, but if you're interested, I can tell you what happened."

His straightforward response surprised everyone- no one had expected him to speak up first; let alone offer to relay the whole tale to Rei. Byakuya couldn't help bit feel a twinge of mild hurt at that- here Haruka was, willing to spill everything to Rei just like that, and yet both herself and Makoto had only been able to know the story behind the incident through another party. She knew that this compliance on Haruka's part was spurred on by his growth from all their experiences, and she was honestly happy that he was opening up to them this way, however... it still hurt. Barely, but it was there nonetheless.

...Was this what it was like for everyone else when she had shut herself in, all those years ago?

"Please tell me." Rei responded firmly. "I'm tired of being the only one on the outside!"

"Rei.." Makoto trailed off upon hearing Rei's profound statement, which was filled with resolve and dedication to his team. It was touching, and while it left a hint of guilt, the statement still warmed his heart.

"I'm part of the team, too!"

"Rei-chan..." Nagisa gave a small smile at that, but the pure happiness that he felt at Rei's declaration could be seen clearly in that tiny lift at the corners of his mouth. To think that Rei- the person he had recruited, and the newest member of their team- would be so attached to their team now... it was wonderful.

"I understand that you don't want me to carry your burdens," Rei continued- this time, looking straight at Byakuya as he spoke. "But that's what being a team is about- sharing our problems and facing them together."

The Shion didn't respond. She just met Rei's gaze evenly, violet eyes clashing with brown in a silent exchange.

_'Is that really what you want?'_

When Rei inclined his head ever so slightly, Byakuya just shut her eyes and glanced away. It was his choice, and she didn't have a right to argue it. All that was left was for Haruka to explain and to fill in the missing pieces. The raven-haired boy just turned his gaze to the ocean in the distance as he spoke, his expression distant- it was as if he were looking past the veils of time and into the very past itself.

"Rin was obsessed with relays from the moment he joined our club." Haruka stated calmly. That was the best way to start the tale- to explain the purpose and beginnings of their team. "He didn't tell us why until right before the final..."

* * *

><p><em>"It's finally time for the final." The twelve year-old Rin Matsuoka announced determinedly, wearing a confident grin on his face while he faced his four friends, all of them gathered in the locker rooms of the stadium. They had finally made it this far, and he never would have been able to do it without them. "Thanks for doing this for me, guys."<em>

_"We're not doing it for you." Makoto corrected lightly, though he wore a soft smile on his own face, as well. Though they had gone through all those painstaking practices and focused all their attention on this single event, he was still happier than he'd ever been before when it came to swimming. Whether it was because he knew he wasn't alone with these guys, or maybe it was because he finally found a swimming style he was truly comfortable with, he didn't know. But it didn't matter- in the end, this was one of the best decisions he'd ever made. "We're here because we want to be."_

_"Well, except me. I'd have liked to have had this conversation somewhere besides the boys' locker rooms." Byakuya scoffed lightly, though her tone was joking as she smiled at her friends. "But I'm glad to be here, too."_

_"Yeah." Rin's smile grew wider when he heard his friends' support for the team- the team that he had created. The expression on Rin's face grew wistful at the thought, and his grin softened as he gave a small chuckle. "Yeah,of course."_

_The Matsuoka lifted his head as he looked at his teammates dead in the eye, coming to a decision. Once, he'd been careful and cautious around them- unwilling to let them know just why he had tried so hard to assemble a team, and to make sure they gave it their all for this relay. But now... now, he knew that they loved this team just as much as he did, and they were just as dedicated. He owed them for everything they did, and all the effort and time they'd put in... the least he could do was to tell them the truth._

_But for some reason, Rin realized that he was a lot less reluctant to tell them his story than he thought he would be._

_"I wasn't sure if I should tell you guys, but win or lose, this next race will be our last. So I'll talk." Rin stated simply, closely watching his teammates' reactions. Makoto, Nagisa and Byakuya looked relatively curious at his statement, but Haruka just remained aloof- Rin couldn't help but smile a bit as he observed this. How typical of Nanase._

_"My dad was one of the last members of the Iwatobi Swim Club." Rin confessed. "When he was in sixth grade, he was part of a winning medley relay. His dream was to become an Olympic swimmer, but he ended up becoming a fisherman... and died in an accident."_

_At this statement, Rin didn't miss the way Makoto seemed to tense up slightly when he said that, but he made no move to question it. He'd had his own suspicions about Makoto's strange reactions to water sometimes ever since the incident at Mutsuki Bridge, but he never asked about it. He would respect Makoto's privacy- just as Makoto had respected his._

_"I've decided to go to Australia, but I though if I could join my dad's swimming club first, and win in a medley relay, I might be able to share his dream." Rin announced. "I'm not sure who was on his team, but I'm sure they were the best team around. I hope that we also can become the best! I know it's selfish, but..." Here, Rin's eyes started to shine with an unbridled determination and confidence, and his wide grin crossed his face once more as he looked at each and every one of his beloved teammates. This was his team._

_And he would do everything he could to carry them above the rest._

_"I want us to be the best team around!"_

* * *

><p>"We won the medley relay, and Rin went to Australia." Haruka concluded calmly, his gaze never faltering as he spoke to Rei. They all stood by the beach now as Haruka finished the first part of his explanation, having decided to find a cooler, more comfortable place to relay the story. The tides pulled and pushed the waves towards and from the shore, the light sound of the breaking waves providing an almost relaxed atmosphere to the environment. "Rin told me he would show me a sight I'd never seen before. And after we won the relay, it really felt like I did see it."<p>

"I also felt like I saw something entirely new." Nagisa added from where he sat on a big rock in the sand, a smile crossing his face as he recalled the sight. It had been almost otherworldly- that relay he'd swam with all of them...

"Yep. Same here." Makoto nodded, his own lips lifting at the corners as he stood next to Nagisa. The actual relay had been so much more than he'd ever expected- almost magical. He could never erase such a sight from his mind even if he tried.

"Even I would have been blind to miss it." Byakuya commented lightly, playing with the collar of her borrowed shirt. Despite the lament she had felt at not being able to actually swim with them to witness that sight head-on, it was still beautiful.

"So if you all swam together in the relay and won..." Rei mused slowly. Even though that had explained part of it, something still wasn't right... "Why is your relationship so different now?"

That made everyone solemn up, and they all averted their gazes in chagrin. Only one person could answer that question- the same person who had been the only one to never break eye contact with the Ryugazaki despite his direct question.

"During the winter break of my first year in middle school..." Haruka began, not even hesitating to tell his tale. There it was again- Byakuya felt that sting of hurt. Even despite all the assurances she had tried to convince herself with... she still couldn't withdraw that feeling.

Her inability made her feel weak. Vulnerable to the memory of her own mistakes. But she continued to listen to Haruka's tale, forcing herself to focus on his steady voice...

"I ran into Rin while he was visiting."

* * *

><p><em>The thirteen year-old Haruka Nanase yawned as he stood in front of the railroad crossing, waiting for the oncoming train to rush by so that he could continue on his way back home. It was winter now, and he shivered lightly as he pulled his white scarf a little tighter around his neck. He never really did like winter- the cold made his nose numb, and he couldn't swim during this time of the year. He wished he lived somewhere closer to the equator- then he would be able to swim all year round...<em>

_As these idle thought perused the Nanase"s mind, he only just noticed that another person had stepped up on the other side of the crossing, and he glanced up passively. However, the sight of crimson eyes meeting his was enough to stun him briefly, and his breath hitched for a moment in shock. It couldn't be..._

_"...Haru?" Rin Matsuoka only just managed to peep out in mild surprise, before the train finally zoomed by, hiding the boys from each other's sight for several moments. When the train had finally gotten out of the way, Haruka nearly exhaled a sigh of relief to see Rin still standing there- for a moment, he had been afraid he'd seen a ghost or a figment of his imagination. The moment the blockade lifted, the Nanase barely hesitated to rush over to Rin's side of the road, eager to greet his old friend once more._

_"You're back." Haruka greeted, his tone somewhat brighter than usual. When Rin met his eye again, the Nanase caught himself, before averting his gaze and returning to his usual, passive self._

_"You could have called." He muttered, sounding more like he normally did. He noticed, however, that Rin was somewhat despondent- even when he'd spotted him- and it piqued his concern. The crimson-haired boy just offered a weak, bland smile as he chuckled shortly- a pale shadow of what his laughter normally sounded like._

_"Well, it'd be a little embarrassing." Rin admitted, his voice taut. Before Haruka could inquire more about that peculiar statement, Rin continued. "How have you been doing? Still swimming?"_

_"Yeah. I joined the swimming club in my middle school." Haruka replied, his expression brightening slightly as he spoke of the sport he loved. Despite his lack of emotivism, there was something happier about his voice as he spoke about swimming... and it made Rin clench his hands into fists by his sides. However, Haruka didn't notice this, and simply continued to speak. "Makoto and Byakuya also joined. The school has a really big pool-"_

_"Hey, Haru." Rin interrupted the Nanase in the middle of his sentence, startling Haru for a moment. Rin just offered Haruka a closed-eyed smile as he met his eye, but something about his grin was different- it was tight; forced. "Let's swim together again..."_

_Now, normally this statement would have made Haruka pleasantly surprised- he wouldn't have minded swimming with his old teammate, after all. But when Rin opened his eyes again, there was an almost cold gleam to those crimson pools, and the next sentence that fell from his lips only served to throw Haruka off even more._

_"To see who's faster."_

_That was when Haruka felt it- something churning uncomfortably in his gut. And he just knew that something was terribly wrong._

_..._

_"Oh, it's Rin! You're back!" Coach Sasabe exclaimed joyfully as he saw his old student approaching the entrance of the swim club building just as he was locking up. His grin only widened as he saw that Haruka was with Rin as well- it was always nice to see two friends reunited again._

_At least, that was what it looked like from his point of view. Haruka knew better._

_"Yeah." Rin responded, again wearing that forced smile as he spoke. "Hey, we want to do some swimming."_

_"Sure!" The coach agreed readily as he turned to unlock the doors- it was the least he could do to for his old student. "The pool's reserved for us now, anyway."_

_"Thanks." Rin replied, sounding almost sincere. However, Haruka noted that the cool look in his eye still hadn't disappeared, and it made him increasingly uncomfortable. What was wrong with Rin?_

_"So, how's Australia?" Coach Sasabe asked as he finally unlocked the door, and the three of them entered the building as they headed towards the pool area. He wanted to hear all about Rin, and how he was doing with his swimming so far- it would make him proud to know that his old student was doing well._

_"It's alright, I suppose." Rin shrugged. If the coach noticed that Rin had made no comment on the topic of his swimming, he made no move to show it, and simply continued to make idle conversation as they navigated the hallways._

_"You've been to see the others too, I'm guessing?" Sasabe asked._

_"No." Rin replied shortly. That made Haruka glance back at Rin again- the way he'd said that... he hadn't said 'not yet'. It was just a plain, simple 'no'. Did that mean he wasn't intending on seeing the others at all?_

_"Oh. Well, I think you'd do good by visiting your old teammates again." Here, Sasabe solemned up a bit, scratching his goatee as he sighed. "Especially Byakuya- heaven knows she needs all the comfort she can get after Mikasa's passing..."_

_"...Oh." For the first time since they'd reunited, Haruka noticed a hint of emotion besides the cool disposition Rin was evicting cross his expression- it looked for a moment like the news had shocked him briefly. However, just as quickly as it happened, it was gone, replaced once more by that reserved expression._

_"Is Byakuya still swimming?" He asked, his expression giving nothing away. This time, even Coach Sasabe wasn't able to contain his brief surprise at how aloof Rin was being about the news he had received._

_"Hm?" The coach hesitated for a moment, seeming to consider Rin's question. "Well... I don't see her around at competitions anymore. It makes sense, though, it must be pretty tough on her..." Goro just shrugged again, before changing the topic. "But that's another story for another time. I hear that Australia's got some pretty nice beaches, Rin. Is it true? I'd like to visit that country sometime- maybe one of these days I'll save up enough to go on vacation there..."_

_As the coach continued to chatter on, Haruka couldn't help but notice that Rin had stopped listening and was hardly responding to anything the coach said. In fact, right after the coach had answered Rin's question, Haru only just heard what Rin had muttered under his breath in response..._

_"...Pathetic."_

_Rin's tone had been bitter, as if he absolutely detested the idea of Byakuya quitting. The look in his narrowed eyes were hard as he stared at the floor and walked on- he looked... angry. Hateful. Miserable. The difference between the Rin he was seeing now and the Rin who had hugged his friends close after they won their relay was astounding to the Nanase. It was like they were two completely different people._

_And that only served to confuse Haruka even more._

_..._

_"Wait, Rin!" Haruka yelled as he finally caught up to Rin just in time to catch onto his wrist from behind before he could run too far. The race he had been challenged to had just ended, with Haruka as the winner. However, the aftermath of his success had been completely unforeseen by the Nanase- Rin had just fallen onto his knees once he'd climbed out, his tears streaming down his face and onto the floor as he tried fervently to push them back. The sight of Rin crying was something that Haruka had seen before during their graduation from grade school, but this... this was different. Rin looked completely broken._

_"What's wrong?" Haruka asked desperately, wanting to know just what was wrong with his friend, who still refused to face him. He had gotten changed and rushed out of the locker rooms in a rush to chase after Rin, and though his hair was still dripping wet, he barely even noticed it. All his attention was focused on the redheaded boy before him. "You've been acting strange today-"_

_But before he could finish that statement, Rin just yanked his hand back from Haruka with enough force to break his hold, and even backed down a few steps for good measure. His eyes were furrowed in distress and anger as he glared at the floor, unwilling to even look Haruka in the eye. He was sick of this- so completely sick of this feeling. And it was brought on all because of one thing..._

_"I quit."_

_"Huh?" Haruka was taken aback at Rin's curt statement, not sure if he had heard correctly. Surely Rin didn't mean..._

_"I'm done with swimming." Rin concluded simply, still not looking back at Haruka. The Nanase's eyes widened in complete horror and mortification at that statement- no, it couldn't be. He couldn't..._

_Rin didn't wait for Haruka to respond. He just turned on his heel and continued running- out of the swim club and out of Haruka's line of sight for years to come._

_And this time, Haruka didn't have the strength to go after him. All he could feel was numb, frozen in shock at what Rin had said. The only thing that could cross his mind was one single thought..._

_This was his fault._

* * *

><p>"...I never knew that happened." Nagisa breathed quietly once Haruka finished relaying his story, feeling completely deflated at what he'd just heard. Rin... he had been in so much pain, it hurt Nagisa just thinking about it. And Haruka...<p>

"I couldn't tell anyone back then." Haruka nodded despondently, casting his gaze out to the ocean. The memory of those days had been dark, indeed- all those long hours of blaming himself for his friend's misery, and his own loss of happiness at the sport he loved because of what he'd done... it had been difficult.

"So that's why you quit swimming in middle school." Nagisa deduced. All of the pieces were finally falling into place now.

"Haru felt guilty about swimming competitively because of what happened with Rin." Makoto confirmed, voicing Haruka's emotions in the boy's place. Haruka didn't need to add on to that statement- Makoto had voiced it just right, like he always did. That was the truth- plain, simple, and clean, laid out for all of them to see.

And yet, something still wasn't right for Rei.

"But didn't your race that day have put an end to all that?" The bluenette asked desperately. "You're free now. You can swim the way you want. So why are you upset about losing? And why is he entering the relay?" The boy's frustration grew more and more evident as he continued, and his fists clenched at his sides. There was so much not right with this situation! Why wasn't everything settled already? Hadn't they come through on their word? Shouldn't Rin be out of the equation by now? Why did the Matsuoka keep pushing himself into the picture? What more did he want from their team?

"I don't understand!"

Rei's exclamation left a long, solemn silence in its wake, not one person able to answer the question he longed for the answer to. How could they respond to that? It was feeling; emotions and bonds that kept them moving forth. There were just no proper words to explain it.

"Rei-chan..." Nagisa hesitated as he tried his hand at explaining things to Rei, but he was cut off when Haruka suddenly emitted a low, short bark of laughter.

"Haru?" Makoto asked in surprise. The Nanase wasn't looking upset or despondent like everyone had expected him to be- he'd actually laughed, in fact! Even Makoto was taken aback by that- what was going through Haruka's head?

But for once, that question was answered by Haruka himself, with no need for them to speculate.

"I don't understand, either. But..." Haruka paused for a moment, casting his eyes to the starry night sky. Indeed, he couldn't understand, and it was completely insane. They were walking a road to which he could not predict the end to, but still...

"For some reason, I'm looking forward to racing Rin again."

Haruka's confession seemed to silence everyone, and they all just kept quiet as they contemplated his words. The silence gave them the time to wrap their heads around everything they had just found out, and all that they now knew. There was so much more to this than they had initally thought, and it only served to strengthen their resolve to continue to reach for the goal they had set.

It was only after a few moments that Makoto realized that one person hadn't spoken at all since Haruka finished his tale.

The Tachibana's eyes flickered over to the girl standing next to him in concern, trying to get a glimpse at her face in the dark as she leaned against the tall rock behind her. Byakuya simply lay her head back against the rock, her eyes closed as if she was resting. However, upon closer inspection, Makoto could see that her jaw was clenched tightly, and her hands were clenching her elbows hard as she crossed her arms, her posture tense. It was as if she was trying to hold herself together, and that only served to worry Makoto even more. However, he knew there was nothing he could say or do about it- at least, not now; with everyone else here- and he had to force himself to look away, not wanting to draw attention to the Shion as she struggled to maintain her composure.

As he looked away, Makoto thought he caught a glimpse of something. Though he couldn't be sure- given how dark it was- he could have sworn he saw a tear falling from Byakuya's cheek and onto the ground.

* * *

><p>Rei silently crossed his arms as he sat on the bench by the train stop, the gears of his mind whirring as they worked fervently to piece together everything he had found out and to figure out a logical conclusion. Though Haruka had told him everything from his side of the story, something still wasn't right- spaces that still remained in the equation. It didn't balance out right, and try as he might, Rei couldn't figure out for the life of him just what was missing. There were countless possibilities, none of which seemed solid enough to fill in those blanks...<p>

"Want some ice cream?"

Nagisa's voice broke Rei out of his contemplation for a moment, and the Ryugazaki's eyes briefly glanced over at the blonde, who sat next to him on the bench. Nagisa had gotten an ice cream- strawberry, as expected- while they waited for their train, and he was currently offering the iced treat to Rei as he peered over at his friend with a friendly smile on his face. But no matter how Nagisa was trying, Rei just couldn't find it in himself to return his smile just then.

"No thanks." Rei responded shortly, his kind still preoccupied with his ponderings. Just what did this all mean...

"Well, there's no point in thinking about it." Nagisa sighed, trying once more to get Rei's mind off the issues at hand. He honestly didn't think there was any reason for him to keep worrying about the whole thing, but Rei thought otherwise. As Nagisa continued trying to soothe Rei's concerns, what he said unwittingly made Rei even more frustrated, and he didn't notice as the Ryugazaki's hands began to clench into fists. "It's all in the past, and we don't plan on getting you involved in it, anyway."

That did it. Rei shot up from his seat, his entire figure tense as he scowled at Nagisa, his violet eyes glaring into the boy's surprised ones. Though the logical part of him argued that Nagisa had only intended to placate him, he was just so sick of all of them trying to leave him out of it just because he 'wasn't involved'. Couldn't they see it? Didn't they understand?!

"How can you say that when I'm already involved?!" Rei nearly yelled, his frustration finally getting the better of him. He was done with this- done with all their attempts at dissuading him and all the words they tried to use to coax him out of it. He was a member of their team, and he had every right to know what all of them were diving into, down to every last detail of it. He would get his answers- all of them.

Even if it meant confronting the 'enemy' face-to-face.

* * *

><p>The three other members of the swim team slowly made their way back to their respective homes, barely a word exchanged between them as they walked on. Even on board the train, Makoto had been the only one who had attempted all and any form of conversation, but for once, Haru had been the only one to respond while Byakuya acted as the silent party. It was a disturbing switch of roles- one that was mildly perplexing and concerning for the two boys. The only time something like this had occurred, it had been years ago, on the way back home from Mikasa's funeral.<p>

"Well, we'll see you, Haru." Makoto nodded once Haruka had unlocked his front door, silding open the shogi doors easily. As the olive-haired boy made to turn around, however, he felt a hand on his shoulder, which prompted him to turn back around. Haruka simply met his friend's eye evenly, holding a silent conversation with his best friend through that one simple glance.

_'Take care of her.'_

"...I understand." Makoto responded quietly in affirmation to his friend's inquiry. Haruka simply nodded his head, before he turned around and entered his house, shutting the door behind him.

And then, there were two.

Makoto gave a low sigh, before he returned to where Byakuya stood, smiling kindly as he gestured for them to head to her home next. The Shion just nodded mutely- an action she had been repeating continuously ever since Haruka had explained his story- before staring at the ground as she walked on. Makoto frowned slightly as he watched the despondent teen- whatever was on her mind, it wouldn't be too long until she succumbed to it. If this was anything like that last time, all those years ago... he was determined to get her to release it before it ate her up again.

He wouldn't make that mistake again. Not like the last time.

As they finally reached her front door, Makoto waited a few before he broached the topic. At the back of his mind, he idly noted that a lot of their confrontations seemed to occur on this very spot, but he barely had time to entertain that thought as he reached out and laid his hand on Byakuya's shoulder, briefly catching her attention.

"Byaku-chan, what's wrong?" Makoto asked slowly, observing how she reacted. For a second, Byakuya didn't respond, simply unlocking the door to her house as if she hadn't even heard the question. In fact, Makoto was almost certain she was just going to ignore it and that he would have to keep insisting, until...

"...I really am terrible, aren't I?" Byakuya whispered bitterly, not turning around as she retracted her hand from her unlocked door, leaving the keys hanging in the keyhole.

"What?" Makoto was taken aback for a minute, removing his hand as his brow furrowed at the question. Byakuya slowly turned around to face the Tachibana, her expression downcast.

"I said horrible things to Rin-kun- called him out on all his faults without thinking about what he might be feeling, or what he was going through. I didn't even stop to think for a moment... that he was doing the exact same thing I did." Byakuya gave a bitter laugh, her eyes cast to the floor. "I'm an utter hypocrite."

The Tachibana just remained silent at Byakuya self-derogatory statement, as if he was waiting for her to continue. And continue, she did.

"I locked everyone out. I gave up trying to piece anything and everything back together. Back then, I became too wrapped up in myself to even notice or really care that Haru-kun had dropped out of swimming at first- I only used it as an excuse to drop out as well... because I was too much of a coward to do it on my own and confront my true feelings. I'm not any different from Rin-kun." Here, Byakuya finally looked up at Makoto, confusion evident in her hazel eyes. "You know it. You were there."

Makoto just silently met Byakuya's eye, not offering any response. For once, he didn't emote anything in his expression- his face was carefully blank and serious, taking into account every word that she was saying. It was an expression that Byakuya had rarely seen him use- the last time she'd seen it, it had been when Makoto had told off Rin during prefecturals after the race with Haru. He had been mad, but even then he hadn't openly expressed it. That was the way Mako was- he reined in his temper and thought it over, before he expressed his dissatisfaction by speaking in a controlled, restrained manner. And somehow, that was almost worse than being yelled at.

That was what Byakuya was afraid of- that he was mad at her. Or that he had been mad at her at some point, but felt that he needed to stand by her side out of obligation.

"Why didn't you tell me to get a grip?" She asked, her voice accusatory- upset, almost. "Why didn't you force me to suck it up and move on? Why did you put up with all my idiocy for so long?"

Her voice wavered at the end, and Byakuya immediately lowered her head, unable to meet Makoto's eye as exhaustion swept over her in a sudden wave, leaving her tired from all her jumbled emotions. She had made so many stupid mistakes in the past- the comment that Haru had overheard Rin make was absolutely right- and she was afraid of the price she'd have to pay. Even now, as she confessed her hurts and mistakes, she couldn't help but doubt herself and all of her actions up to this point. Why would anyone put up with a mess like her? Why would anyone stay by her side?

"...Why didn't you leave?" Byakuya asked quietly, her voice uncharacteristically timid.

Still no response. Byakuya just stood her ground as she spoke, keeping her eyes glued to the floor- she was too afraid of what she would see reflected in Mako's expression. Her hands gripped the hem of her borrowed shirt tightly, and she resisted the urge to just turn back and retreat into her house to let this whole situation cool off on its own. But she couldn't do that- running was not an option anymore. In the beginning, she had wanted to leave Rin to his own devices- if he wanted to lock them out, then so be it, she had thought. But somehow- for some crazy, confusing reason- she had stayed, and she didn't know why.

And she had to know. She had to know why they all still chased after Rin, and why Haruka and Makoto had done the same for her. She couldn't keep pushing aside her questions just because she feared the answer she would receive.

Swallowing hard, Byakuya slowly lifted her eyes from the ground to gauge Makoto's expression... and was taken aback when her vision was engulfed by a flash of green. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, Makoto's arms were around her, holding her close against his chest. Byakuya was stunned- what...?

"Of course I didn't." Makoto murmured, one of his hands stroking her head gently as he spoke in a soft, reassuring tone. "How could you think I would ever leave you?"

"Mako..." Byakuya trailed off for a moment, overwhelmed by a feeling of immense relief at his words and actions. Even so, she clenched her eyes shut as she lowered her head, unable to bring herself to return his embrace. She didn't deserve that luxury- Makoto was too good for her.

"I don't care about your mistakes. None of that matters- not now, not even back then." Makoto responded gently. "All you needed was for someone to be there for you, and you would be able to come out of it yourself. And you did."

"How could you possibly have known that?" Byakuya asked, her voice tight. Even after so long, Makoto's touch was still so warm and comforting- it made her feel safe, like her own personal sanctuary.

"I didn't." Makoto responded, though Byakuya could tell he was smiling from the tone of his voice. The hand that had been running down her hair paused for a moment as he gently cupped the back of her neck and urged her to look up. Makoto's eyes were warm and full of an emotion Byakuya couldn't identify, but she didn't get to observe it longer before he pressed his lips softly against her forehead, murmuring quietly to her.

"I just believe in you."

'Why?' She wanted to ask. Why was he being so kind? Why didn't he get mad and yell at her for her hypocrisy? Why would he stay by her side, even after all her selfishness?

But Byakuya kept silent. Because deep down, she knew all too well what the answers to those questions were. And she knew it was completely doubtless.

She was loved.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: If awkward fluff kills me then serious fluff does it five hundred times over. Goodbye readers I am dead *buries self* 8'D. <strong>**But anyhoo- I was actually really sketchy about using the 'L' word at the end, but I couldn't really think of another substitute to properly convey the depth of the duo's relationship now. I this isn't too big or too sudden a leap- especially since neither one has officially fessed up yet :P**

**On a less serious note: we've officially reached 100+ favourites, reviews and follows for this story! Huzzah! 8D. Shout out to KinakoMochi, Mazgrl98, MyFriendsAreMyPower, trunksgf96, Shizuka Kitsune, Heavenly Condemned, surlie, DreamUnicorn247, TheOCWriter, lazyday33, Cii-Chan, MahoRyu, Nadeshiko291210, SmartOotori, chibianimefan26, senisan14, Luna de Octubre, akagami hime chan, Choco-Latte64 A Dark Lullaby, magicandscience and dragfillia!**

**Thank you to everyone who has contributed your support for this story, even if you just stopped by for a quick read! It means a lot to me, guys, and I hope that ya'll will remain patient with this horribly lazy writer until we reach the end of this fic! Till then, I'll see you next water time!**


	50. Chapter 50

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

*****Four years ago******

_"You're quitting the swim club?" The young Makoto Tachibana exclaimed in shock, watching as Haruka simply handed in his club withdrawal form to the school clerk sitting at the counter, who accepted it and headed to the file room to edit his reports. Makoto was horrified- when he and Byakuya had followed Haru to the school office during their break, this was the last thing he thought was going to happen! "Why?"_

_"It's too much effort." Haruka replied simply, offering no further explanation as he just turned away from the lady at the counter. Before Makoto even had time to respond to that, Haruka just strolled past him, barely even glancing back. "I'm going to the cafeteria."_

_"But-" However, Makoto cut himself off as he realized that Haru had made up his mind- there was no talking him out of this. But still, swimming was the one thing that Haruka loved the most! Why would he suddenly give it up like that, all of a sudden? "Haru..."_

_"How troublesome." Byakuya's tongue clicked in irritation, prompting Makoto to glance back at the girl. Recently, she had become a lot more rough around the edges, and hardly ever used her words for anything besides a snarky comment. Even now, she simply had one of her hands in her pocket, the other holding one of the empty club resignation forms that Haru had filled up as she examined it lazily. "He just quits like that after all that time and effort we put in? What a pain..."_

_"But why would he do that?" Makoto mused aloud, wondering just what had gotten into his best friend. Surely this couldn't have been a spur of the moment decision..._

_"Who knows? There's no point to it, anyway." Byakuya responded with such nonchalance that it shocked Makoto, who stared at her with wide eyes. The Shion didn't even acknowledge his shock as her eyes scanned the form in her hands, her expression thoughtful. "To quit, we just have to fill in these forms, right?"_

_"Y-you aren't thinking of quitting too, are you?" Makoto exclaimed, almost feeling dizzy from everything he was hearing. She wouldn't- couldn't-_

_"Well, if Haru-kun isn't swimming, then chances are, you won't either." Byakuya accused, raising an eyebrow at Makoto. "And I'm not gonna be the only one left in swim club."_

_"But, Byaku-chan!" Makoto protested, trying to talk at least one of his friends into staying. "We've been swimming together for years!"_

_"Well, Haru-kun isn't gonna change his mind if we just ask." Byakuya shrugged, her expression unchanging as she grabbed a pen from the counter. "So what's the point of it anymore?"_

_"...Aren't you even going to try?" Makoto asked desperately, his mood diminishing even further as he realized what this meant._

_"You can go ahead if you want to." Byakuya stated simply, not looking up as she proceeded to fill up the form. Makoto just stared at the girl for a moment, silently begging for her to look up and meet his eye- to at least try to speak to Haruka, as well. But it was no use- Byakuya's pen just scrawled across the paper, her face an unchanging mask. Makoto just didn't understand- the girl he saw before him now and the girl who had held his hand as she comforted him barely a year ago seemed like two different people entirely, and if Makoto was honest... it hurt. It hurt that she would suddenly turn around and decide to slam the door in their faces, without offering a single explanation. It had been this way ever since her mother's funeral, and now even Haruka seemed to be doing the exact same thing as well..._

_And Makoto knew there was nothing that he could do about it._

_"...I'll see you later, Byaku-chan." Makoto muttered despondently, his expression downcast. Reluctantly, he turned on his heel, heading in the direction Haru had gone. This was beyond his comprehension, and he needed time to think- he knew that the odds were leaning towards him quitting the swim club, but he couldn't just do that on a whim. Not like they had._

_As Makoto left the office, Byakuya's hand paused from filling up the form, and her eyes fell shut. Her hands clenched into fists, crumpling the form in her hand and squeezing the pen so tightly she honestly thought for a moment that it was going to snap- she was relieved that Makoto had left; she didn't know how much more she could take if he had continued to plead the way he had. She was just so tired of this- tired of seeing her mother's face every time something reminded her of her, and swimming only made it worse. The water consumed her, swallowing her whole and lulling her into a false peace as she thrust herself through its enfolds, as if nothing had changed. And then when her head broke the surface, she would be forced to realize that reality still held her in its icy grip as she looked up at the empty poolside, where no one waited to hold a hand out to her and asked if she had fun. Her mother was still gone, and she had nowhere to run from the emptiness she felt._

_But she was too weak to admit that on her own. So when she saw the opportunity to quit when Haru did, she took it. As for Makoto..._

_"...I'm sorry." Byakuya whispered, her words audible to only her._

_And that was the first honest statement she'd made in months_.

* * *

><p>Dark eyes blinked open blearily as Byakuya slowly arose from her sleep, her face having been shoved into a pillow as she hugged it against her head. The teen gave a low groan as she pushed herself up from her bed, supporting herself with her elbows. Barely suppressing a yawn, Byakuya ran a hair through her messy, tangled hair and glanced at the time on her clock- she'd woken up 5 minutes before the alarm. Normally, the Shion would have been rather irked by this event, but well... she wasn't feeling exactly 'normal' today.<p>

Byakuya simply turned off the alarm clock to prevent it from ringing, before her eyes fell upon something lying on the surface dresser on which the alarm clock sat. A green and white Omamori charm- Makoto's gift to her.

Reaching out her hand to wrap her fingers around the item, Byakuya finally sat herself up properly on her bed as she took hold of the handmade charm. Her chestnut eyes stared at the trinket sitting in her palm, her expression deep in thought as she recalled the day she had withdrawn from her swim club in middle school. She really had been an absolutely selfish prick back then- how did her friends even put up with her? But even despite all her vain tendencies, they had still chosen to stand by her side instead of leaving, even when she was at her worst. If they had left... she knew she would have fallen apart completely, and might never have been able to get up again. Even Haruka, who seemed so aloof and distant, had chosen to stay.

And then there was _him_...

_"I don't care about your mistakes. None of that matters- not now, not even back then."_

Unconsciously, Byakuya's hand closed around the Omamori charm as she thought of the olive-haired Tachibana, with his smiling face and kind eyes. The sound of his warm voice seemed to fill her mind- the same gentle voice that never lost its patience as it comforted her, that never asked for anything in return even as its owner gave everything he had.

_'Makoto...'_

Just what was this foreign feeling that gripped her heart?

* * *

><p>"What?!" The loud, indignant voice of Coach Sasabe rang out as he stared at the teens before him- the one who was missing being the source of his frustration. "Rei's not practicing?"<p>

"That's unusual." Makoto mused worriedly. It was unlike Rei- who was arguably the most dedicated and hardworking of them all- to suddenly skip out on practice like that. What could possibly have prompted him into doing so?

"O-oh!" Nagisa suddenly exclaimed loudly, drawing everyone's attentions to him. "Maybe the strawberry milk ice cream I gave him yesterday was spoiled!"

"Then why did you give it to him?" Kou raised an eyebrow, shaking her head disapprovingly at the Hazuki, who just rubbed the back of his head nervously. He was hoping that they would honestly buy that excuse- to be honest, he wasn't sure why Rei was missing, but he did have a pretty sound suspicion...

"Uh, I don't think ice cream can spoil..." Coach Sasabe commented thoughtfully, his arms crossing in speculation.

"Oh, it can." Byakuya shuddered, remembering a particularly nasty food poisoning incident. Talk about the worst week of her life...

"But if he ate something spoiled..." Makoto wondered, his brow furrowing in thought. They'd only gone to Coach Sasabe's house yesterday, so the only way for Rei to have gotten sick when all of them were fine would have been for him to eat something after they'd left.

"Mackerel?" Kou asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at Haruka accusingly.

"I didn't give him any." Haruka defended monotonously. Where did she even get the assumption that he could have found the time to feed Rei mackerel, anyway?

"Anyways, we don't have much time until regionals! You need to practice hard!" Coach Sasabe sighed, deciding to focus back on the matter at hand. The others nodded as they heeded the coach's advice- they didn't have much time to lose, and had to do all they could to train up for the big day. There was no point in wondering about Rei since he wasn't available, anyway.

At least, that was the conclusion most of them had come to, save for one. Ever so subtly, Nagisa's expression grew a bit more solemn as he contemplated the Ryugazaki's words from the other night- he'd sounded frustrated and upset, as if he had reached his patience's limits. Those kind of feelings could drive anyone to do crazy things...

_'Rei-chan couldn't have...'_

* * *

><p>Rin clicked his tongue in annoyance and frustration as he finally touched the wall, completing his leg of the relay practice lap. When his teammate leapt over his head and into the water behind him, he barely even bothered to watch his progress as he yanked off his goggles, scowling viciously.<p>

"Damn!" He cursed, his hands clenching into fists. Not good enough- he wasn't as fast as he was normally was. Something was out of sync for him- something that was throwing him off his usual rhythm. But what? What was it?

"Matsuoka-senpai, you're doing great!" The upbeat voice of Nitori broke Rin out of his frustrated musings- the underclassman was holding his towel for him as he stood by the poolside, trying to encourage his senior. However, Nitori's attempt at cheering him on was only grating on Rin's nerves as the Matsuoka climbed out of the pool, trying to tune him out. "We'll easily beat Nanase-san and his team-"

Nitori didn't even have time to finish his sentence as Rin simply swiped up his towel from the younger boy's hands without even blinking. The sudden movement was enough to deter Nitori from continuing his- obviously failing- attempt to cheer Rin up, and the boy could only watch as his senior headed off to the bench by the sidelines, not even looking back once.

"Senpai..." Nitori trailed off uncertainly, somewhat crestfallen. Rin had been getting a lot edgier recently, and Nitori didn't have any idea why. His motivation wasn't decreasing by any means, but he just seemed... out of it. If he was honest with himself, Nitori was mildly hurt by Rin's cold behaviour- he never even got a single 'thank you' for any of the support he tried to give- but that wasn't what perturbed Aiichirou; he was more concerned about Rin's wellbeing over his own. That was just the way Nitori was- selfless, possibly even to a fault.

But it was not Nitori's faults that had currently caught the attention of the Samezuka Swim Team's captain.

Golden eyes were fixated on the retreating form of Rin Matsuoka as he plopped down on the bench, drying his hair with his towel without even noticing the stares that were directed at him. For all his lighthearted ways, Seijuuro Mikoshiba was always serious whenever it came to handling matters in his team. But now, his expression was unusually solemn as he watched the Matsuoka.

Captain Mikoshiba was many things, and unfortunately for Rin, being observant was one of his most prominent traits.

As Rin leaned back against the wall to catch his breath, he simply let his mind wander, unwilling to dwell too much on the issue of his out-of-sync swimming if he could help it. Such thoughts reminded him far too much of a time years ago, back in Australia- a time he honestly wished he would forget...

"Matsuoka." The sound of one of his fellow clubmates calling out to him drew Rin's attention away from his musings, and he turned to see said clubmate standing before him. That was strange- he didn't talk much to others in his club, so why would they start now? That question was answered soon enough when the boy pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, gesturing towards the entrance. Though his words were simple, it was enough to grab the Matsuoka's full attention, spiking his alertness.

"Someone named Ryugazaki is here. Says he's looking for you."

It looked like he had a guest.

* * *

><p>The moment Rin stepped out of the entrance to the indoor pool, he was met with the sight of a familiar bluenette, who wore the Iwatobi High uniform and had a bagpack slung over his shoulder. Rei Ryugazaki casually adjusted his red frames as he met the Matsuoka's suspicious stare- clearly, Rin recognized him all too well.<p>

"Rin-chan-san, yes?" Rei asked in affirmation. The peculiar name annoyed Rin somewhat- what kind of name was that, anyway?- but he made no comment on such a simple matter, and instead went straight to the point.

"It's you." He muttered, his tone bland. Shoving his hands into the pockets in his sports jacket- which he had thrown on over his red and black legskin- he shot Rei an almost bored look. "So, what do you want?"

"I have two questions for you." Rei answered simply as he placed his bagpack down on the ground next to his feet- clearly, he had been fully prepared for this confrontation. His direct answer caught Rin off guard for a moment, prompting the boy to raise a crimson eyebrow.

"Huh?" Rin took a moment to regain his composure, before continuing in a more monotonous tone. "What are they?"

"Then, here is my first question." Rei continued slowly, pushing up his glasses once again. As he did so, he looked Rin directly in the eye, his violet gaze not faltering as he put forth his question. Now was the time- he would get all the answers to his question, no matter what.

"Why did you suddenly decide to swim in a relay?"

The question threw Rin off for a moment again, and this time the Matsuoka just shot Rei a vaguely dumbfounded look. Was this guy serious? Of all the things to ask, he would ask something so trivial?

"I changed my mind. You came out here to ask me that?" Rin responded, sounding almost condescending. Really, if that was all the Ryugazaki had to ask after going through the trouble of coming all the way here and calling him out... he was not as bright as he looked, Rin mused.

"That answer doesn't convince me." Rei retorted calmly, his response catching Rin's interest once again. "You were fixated on racing Haruka-senpai all this time."

All the while as he spoke, Rei had not broken eye contact with Rin even once, carefully watching his reactions and the changes in his expression. When he'd finished that last sentence, the Matsuoka's eyes had narrowed, his posture becoming more tense- evidently, he had tread onto a sensitive topic. While this normally would have deterred Rei, he knew this was inevitable- he had to address this issue if it meant finding out what he needed to.

"Your reason was that you couldn't move forth until you defeated him." Rei continued matter-of-factly. "And in the last tournament, you beat him. Doesn't that mean you've achieved your goal?"

"My goal isn't to beat Haru, and it isn't to win tournaments in this country." Rin responded tersely, though he sounded absolutely sure of himself. "I aim higher- my goal is the world.'

"The world?" That statement intrigued Rei somewhat. To become an Olympic swimmer was Matsuoka's dream, if he remembered correctly- so that definitely made sense.. and yet, not quite. But still, Rei just let it slide for now- he had more pressing issues to attend to. "Very well, onto my second question." Here, the look in his violet eyes became even more serious, if that was possible. "How do you feel about Haruka-senpai?

"Huh?" Rin exclaimed. Once more, he hadn't been expecting that- and what was the point to that question?

"In grade school, you and Haruka-senpai were close rivals." Rei elaborated, his expression calm as opposed to Rin's aggressive one. "I saw pictures of you guys in Coach Sasabe's house. You used to smile all the time, with Haruka-senpai, Makoto-senpai, Byakuya-senpai, and Nagisa-kun. The five of you were always together and having fun."

As each word fell from Rei's mouth, Rin found his hands clenching tighter and tighter as he balled them into fists at his side. The words that the Ryugazaki spoke were inducing memories from his own past- memories of laughter, fun times, snow days... none of which he wanted or could afford to remember. Those days were a burden- mere obstacles that got in his way. After all, the reason for everything that he'd gone through in Australia was because of...

"So what made you change after studying abroad?" Rei insisted, not slowing down his barrage of questions regardless of Rin's increasingly tense disposition. "Why didn't you contact Haruka-senpai or any of the others when you returned? What happened when you were abroad? You were all close friends, so why? You all swam in a relay with them, so why? You must have been thrilled to swim in that relay with them!"

As he spoke, Rei's voice grew more and more emotive, his frustration and burning curiosity shining through with each desperate question. He was so confused- none of this made sense! There was no logic- no statistics or numbers to help him balance out this messed up equation, no matter how hard he tried to figure it out. All that plagued his mind was 'why, why, why'.

Unfortunately, he was not the only one whose emotions were beginning to get out of hand. Rin's teeth ground against each other as his jaw clenched with each accusatory question Rei shot at him- each sentence was like a bullet zipping past his flesh, each precise shot cutting into his skin and reopening the wounds he had forcefully sealed close.

"Aren't you the one who understands more than anyone how great that relay was?"

"Shut up!" Rin yelled the moment Rei had finished his last sentence, startling the bluenette briefly into silence as he glared furiously at him. "I let you talk, and you think you can spout all the stupid logic you want? Why do I have to explain myself to you?!"

"...Because I'm a victim." Rei replied calmly, as if he had never been fazed by Rin's outburst at all. In actuality, his own patience was wearing thin- but unlike Rin, he had a relatively cool temperament. When Rin didn't respond to his statement, Rei took it as a sign to continue.

"I was originally on the track team, but ended up joining the swim club. After watching Haruka-senpai swim, I wanted to swim like him." Rei stated, his expression setting firmly as he recalled the memories of the time he had spent with his team. "Practice was hard at first, but it started to grow on me. Eventually, I was having fun with everyone. At prefecturals, I was finally able to swim in a relay with them. That was the first time I really understood relays as more than just theory... I realized how fun they could be!" Rei looked up at Rin as he proclaimed this, his expression imploring as he placed his hand over his heart and announced his joy. "I still remember how it felt- we were finally united as one! We felt like a real team! Even for those of us that couldn't swim in that relay, it felt like we had all accomplished something magnificent!"

For a moment, Rin was unable to respond as he stared in wide-eyed shock at the Ryugazaki. What was he saying...?

"But all they keep talking about is you!" Rei shouted, finally losing his temper. This was maddening! They were his friends- his family, his team! What right did Matsuoka have to trample all over them and still be acknowledged as one of them? "'Rin-chan, Rin-chan, Rin-chan'!"

"That's not my problem!" Rin retorted vehemently.

"Like hell it isn't!" Rei bellowed in rage. Suddenly, he grabbed Rin forcefully by the collar of his jacket- the action catching the redhead off-guard- before roughly shoving Rin against the wall of the building, never releasinng his grip on the boy's jacket as he glared blazingly at the Matsuoka.

"Bastard! It's because of you that Haruka-senpai stopped swimming!" Rei accused furiously, the story from last night recurring to him once again. It was because of Rin- because of this jerk- that Haruka had given up what he had loved the most. Didn't Rin see that? Didn't he care? If he had been once of them once before, why didn't he stop to think about their feelings?

"What are you talking about?!" Rin protested in confusion, trying to pull Rei's hands off of him. However, the bluenette was actually rather muscular from all his track team days, and his strength- which was also currently fueled by rage- was enough to best Rin's.

"Haruka-senpai felt guilty about beating you in middle school!" Rei yelled in Rin's face, the accusation startling the redhead into wide-eyed silence. Rei couldn't be more glad- if the Matsuoka had continued on his clueless tirade, he may have actually settled for a punch to his face instead.

Rei had given so much for his friends, trained so hard and pushed himself to the limits just to be able to swim with them- to be worthy of being a part of this wonderful team. And then here was Matsuoka, who took them all for granted and cast them aside like they were worthless. And yet, they still got up and chased after him.

Why, why,_ why?!_

"Why are you people acting this way?! Why are they still talking about you after all the terrible things you've said and done? Why are you still trying to get in their way?!" Rei shouted, his questions reverberating painfully in Rin's head. "I don't get it! You beat Haruka-senpai in your last race! Isn't that enough?! What are you swimming in the relay now?! What do you want to do?! What do you want from Haruka-senpai?! What will it take to satisfy you?!"

If Rei's words from before were bullets, these ones were knives that sank even deeper into Rin, hitting far too close to home. The sight he'd seen when he swam that relay began to appear in his mind's eye again, no matter how hard he tried to push it back. It was surfacing, pushing past the layers and layers of barriers Rin had placed around it to prevent if from ever coming back... but it was winning.

And Rin was losing. Again.

"...In that case, what about you?" Rin asked in return, his voice dangerously calm as he slowly pried Rei's hands from his jacket. Once Rin was on his feet properly again, he threw Rei's hand aside, his voice incensed as he attempted to turn the tables on the Ryugazaki. Grabbing Rei's collar in return now, Rin shoved the boy back, watching with satisfaction as his eyes enlarged at being on the receiving end of the assault now. "You didn't have anything to do with this, so why are you giving me all this grief?!" Crimson eyes burned into violet ones as the two boys stared each other down, facing the others' fury. "What do you want to do?!"

Rin hoped that his question would at least make Rei feel half of the grief he had at his own accusation. If Rei himself couldn't answer the question, at least he would be able to brush this guy off as a hypocritical moron- that he was simply venting his pointless frustrations and taking them out on him. This guy would be no different than he was.

But Rei was not Rin. And he answered that question without any hesitation, his expression completely serious.

"I want us to become the best team at a tournament. I want to swim with them as a member of that team. That's all I want."

And that was the last thing that Rin had expected.

Those words seemed to knock all of the anger and steam out of Rin, leaving him completely numb. Slowly, he began to lose his drive, and his grasp on Rei's shirt gradually loosened until his hand fell to his side. Those words... those had been his own- once, a long time ago. That was what he had wanted back then. More than anything else- even more than his dream of being an Olympic swimmer. He had longed to swim as one with his team, disregarding everything else because none of that mattered.

But that was back then. Why did he want to swim in a relay now? Had he not come to terms with the consequences his choice of swimming in a relay had brought him all those years ago? What did he hope to gain?

He... didn't know anymore.

"If you interfere..." Rei warned as he lifted his bagpack over his shoulder once more- Rin had barely even noticed that he'd retrieved it after he'd released him, not that it even mattered. He just listened listlessly to the Ryugazaki's voice, not even caring about what he was going to say as the boy headed back the way he came, only pausing briefly to glance back at Rin as he finished his sentence...

"I'll never forgive you."

* * *

><p>Kou Matsuoka was simply looking through the recorded times of her teammates as they completed their training under Coach Sasabe's watch, comparing their newest feats to their previous ones. This coach really knew what he was doing, Kou mused as she flipped through the notes in her clipboard- they had really upped their times a notch. If only Rei were here- they could use all the improvement they could get...<p>

The sound of a ringtone blaring caught Kou's attention, and she quickly sought out the source of the noise. Her eyes eventually locked onto the cellphone that sat on the table where the towels were placed, and Kou instantly recognized the device's owner from the familiar, butter-yellow cover- it was Byakuya's, no doubt. Her crimson eyes darted hesitantly back to the pool, where all the swimmers were training fervently- the Shion was no exception, and Kou didn't quite want to break her attention away from her training just then. Maybe it would be okay if she just answered the cell in Byakuya's stead and asked the caller to call back later, Kou deduced as she retrieved the ringing phone. The caller ID read 'Onii-chan'- obviously, it was Aoi- and the Matsuoka pressed the 'answer' button as she placed the phone to her ear, prepared to greet the older Shion politely.

"Hello-"

"_Byakuya Shion_!" Aoi's loud, incredulous voice cut Kou off before she could even finish her greeting, and the Matsuoka had to pull the phone away from her ear upon his shout. Before she could correct him, however, Aoi continued his tirade. "I can excuse messaging in any other situation, but your _first kiss_?! And you waited a whole _week_ before telling me?!"

Now Kou had been intending to correct Aoi before he could continue to mistake her for his sister, but his statement only caused the girl's words to die on her lips, her eyes widening in absolute shock. Was she hearing right...?

"Jeez- I need details for this sort of thing!" Aoi sighed as he began to calm down, completely oblivious to the fact that the person on the other side of the line wasn't actually his sister at all. "Was he a good kisser? Totally lousy? Tongue or no tongue? Please tell me Orca kept his hands to himself or I will-"

"U-uhhh, Aoi-san." Kou interrupted quickly, regaining her composure as she flushed slightly upon hearing Aoi's somewhat crude implications. "Byakuya-chan is a little busy at the moment. C-could you call back later?"

...

"...Oh hell." Aoi's voice cursed nervously after a long and awkward pause. "You're that manager girl."

"Yeah." Kou tittered nervously in response.

"Right..." Kou could practically envision the Shion rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, probably trying to mask his embarrassment by forcing himself to sound casual. "Well, I'll just... call her later then. And uh, could you forget everything I just said?"

"Of course, Aoi-san." Kou responded professionally. She had no intention of doing as she said, though.

"Right. Thanks. Bye." Aoi responded shortly, before quickly hanging up before Kou could return his goodbye. Slowly, Kou lowered the cellphone and placed it back on the tabletop, taking a deep breath to regain her cool after all she had heard...

And then, an eerily wide, too-innocent smile crossed her face as she turned towards the pool, heading straight for Byakuya's lane. She had to take this out on someone, and she knew just the person.

"Oh, Byakuya-chan~" Kou called sweetly as Byakuya finished another lap, pulling the goggles and swim cap from her head. Upon Kou's call, the Shion had to stop herself from flinching instinctively as she slowly looked up at the manager, who continued to grin down at her with a foreboding smile that sent tremors down her spine.

There was only one thing that came to Byakuya's mind, and she voiced it perfectly.

"...Oh crap."

* * *

><p>"You kissed Makoto-senpai and didn't have the decency to tell me?!"<p>

Byakuya lowered her head even further, flinching slightly at Kou's outrageous voice. She was currently kneeling on the locker room floor in seiza before the Matsuoka, who had her arms crossed over her chest as she loomed darkly over the Shion. As much as Byakuya would have liked to keep her mouth shut and to let Kou do all the ranting, the brief pause indicated that the redhead was expecting an answer from her, and she was forced to respond- though her voice was a lot more meek than usual.

"W-what was I supposed to say?" Byakuya stuttered out, fidgeting uncomfortably as she racked her brain to think of something to reply with. She didn't how a woman's mind worked- who knew what could unintentionally set Kou off! She thought she was ready to face the Matsuoka after she had not-so-nicely requested to see her in the locker rooms during their break, but apparently she was wrong. Curse that brother of hers for calling at the wrong time...

"Anything!" Kou insisted exasperatedly.

"Sorry-"

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Kou went all up in Byakuya's face as she exclaimed this, and the Shion immediately placed her hands up in a placating, fearful manner. Something in her expression must have elicited some form of pity from Kou- probably the terror in her eyes- because the girl emitted a dreary sigh as she straightened up again, shooting Byakuya a look. "You could have told me, Byakuya-chan."

"I know." Byakuya admitted guiltily, exhaling a sigh of her own. "I was just... really messed up, you know? I never would have thought it would happen..."

"Fine. Apology accepted. But," Kou added quickly when a hopeful look crossed Byakuya's face, prompting her expression to become one of confusion. The Matsuoka just lifted her nose daintily in response as she pointed at the Shion demandingly. "I need details. Now."

"W-what?" Byakuya squeaked, a flustered expression crossing her face as she stood up again. Details? What was that supposed to mean?

"Your brother's going to ask you the same thing later, anyway." Kou pointed out, eliciting a wince from Byakuya- that was one phone conversation she wasn't ready for. However, the Matsuoka seemed eager to get some answers, and she smiled slyly as she jabbed Byakuya's waist with her elbow suggestively. "So what was it like? How did you feel?"

"Um... Like I was going to faint and explode at the same time?" Byakuya suggested.

"That's too brief!"

"Okay, then..." Byakuya thought about it for a moment, before clearing her throat and putting on a pseudo-dramatic voice. "It was as if the heavens opened up, and the choirs of angels sang their lilting hymns as he laid his lips upon mine, ravishing them ever so tenderly with his-"

"Stop that!" Kou laughed as she pushed Byakuya's shoulder playfully, the latter grinning cheekily at her friend. "I can't take you seriously!"

"That was the whole point!"

"Those sort of lines sound so much better when you read them in romance novels." Kou managed to say once she'd regained her composure, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

"I know." Byakuya shuddered as she and the Matsuoka took a seat on the bench. "I think I need to wash my mouth out with soap after this."

"How did it happen, though?" Kou inquired eagerly, returning back to the topic they had been discussing. "Did he just swoop in for the kill?"

"Could you have used a less suitable metaphor?" Byakuya scoffed, idly tugging at a tangled strand of hair. "You do realize this is Makoto we're talking about."

"You have a point..." Kou admitted, before she grinned slyly at the Shion and nudged her playfully again. "But I did tell you that the lip balm would come in handy."

"So that was what your intention was?!" Byakuya exclaimed, feeling a flush creeping up her neck upon this revelation. So... she'd played right into Kou's plans?

"Of course!" Kou enthused happily, prompting Byakuya to let her face fall into her hands embarrassedly. "But come on, seriously! What was it like?"

"...Mind-blowingly amazing." Byakuya mumbled through her hands, her ears reddening at the memory. This was embarrassing...

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Kou nodded in satisfaction at finally getting her friend to spill. "C'mon, details. No secrets among girlfriends."

Byakuya couldn't help but laugh at that. Really, for all the complications... having a gal pal around to talk to wasn't too bad. Speaking to Nagisa or any of the other guys about this would have been far more awkward. Perhaps Kou had a point, after all.

And besides, it was good practice for answering Aoi's questions later.

"Well, to start off, he was a total dork..."

* * *

><p>"Is Rei okay?" Makoto mused out loud as he wrung out his damp swimsuit, idly adjusting the towel around his bare waist as he did so. He and the other guys were currently in the men's locker room, changing back into their usual clothes after swim practice.<p>

"I think he'll be fine." Nagisa reassured as he pulled on his shorts over his boxers, not bothering to lace the front up or to button up his shirt just yet as he dried out his curly blonde locks. "But I'm a little worried."

"Damn that Rei. Doesn't he realize an athlete needs to take care of his own health?" Coach Sasabe sighed as he sat on the chair in the locker rooms, having just emerged from the changing room fully dressed. Digging out his wallet, he drew out a 1000yen bill and handed it to his students, winking encouragingly at them as he did so. "Here- go check on him."

"You want us to go to Rei-chan's house?" Nagisa asked, accepting the cash from the coach curiously.

"Yep. Get him a gift or something while you're at it." Sasabe shrugged, stretching his arms over his head casually.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." Makoto mused, before turning to the raven-haired boy next to him to ask for his opinion. "What do you think, Haru?"

"I'm fine with it." Haruka shrugged nonchalantly, retrieving his clothes as he prepared to enter the changing room next- he was the only one who hadn't made to change out of his swimsuit yet.

"In that case, we-"

However, Nagisa was interrupted by the sound of the entrance door to the locker room clicking open, and all heads immediately swiveled towards the sudden interruption. Lo and behold, who else would enter just then besides Byakuya Shion, who was frowning at her low-powered phone as she opened the door and stepped in.

"Hey, do any of you guys have a-" Byakuya cut herself off when she looked up, finally noticing what she had intruded on. For a moment, she just stared blankly at the boys, not quite registering what she was looking at.

They stared back.

...

Less than a fraction of a second later, Byakuya's face turned completely crimson, and she emitted a shriek as she slapped her hands over her eyes, shielding her innocent sight. The others emitted a similar exclamation of their own as they all flinched away from each other, either grabbing their clothes and haphazardly throwing them on or fixing the ones that they were already wearing. Haruka was the only one who seemed casual about the whole scenario, as he just strolled across the room and into the changing room without even the slightest change in his expression.

"Awww jeez, guys! Clothes! On! Now!" Byakuya whimpered insistently as she lamented the lost purity of her eyes. As if seeing them in swimsuits nearly every day wasn't enough...

And she was going to ignore the fact that she'd just seen Makoto standing there in nothing but a towel. Heaven knew she would drop dead of a seizure if she thought too long about it.

"What did I tell you about knocking?!" Makoto exclaimed as he all but jumped into his boxers and pants, yanking them on with a speed that would have put supermodels to shame.

"How was I supposed to know?!"

"It's the men's locker room!" Sasabe pointed out. Thankfully, he had already been fully-clothed- the thought of the old coach being anything aside from that made Byakuya nauseous.

"Changing room right over there! You guys could use it once in a while!" Byakuya snapped, pointing in the direction she assumed the changing room was in- she couldn't tell; she still had one hand over her eyes, and not even the apocalypse could have made her remove right now.

"Haru-chan's inside there!" Nagisa retorted, the buttons on his shirt all done up unevenly as he messily laced up his shorts.

"This is so wrong..."

"It's not as if you haven't seen anything you shouldn't have already." Haruka's voice commented simply from inside the changing room.

"Haru!" Makoto exclaimed in mortification.

"You _what_?!" Sasabe was mortified. As a somewhat paternal figure to the team, he wasn't too keen on the idea that Byakuya had seen more than any teenage girl her age should have.

"That wasn't my fault! Nagi-kun was the one that decided to go skinny dipping!" Byakuya cried, her face flushing even further at the reminder.

"So Bya-kun saw what was in my pants before she saw anything in Mako-chan's-"

"Hey!"

"Shut your whore mouth!"

"Language, young lady!"

"He started it!"

"No, she did!"

As Kou walked past the men's locker rooms and heard the incessant racket going on inside, she just heaved a tired sigh and walked on, not even bothering to check on what was going on. While she was sort of perplexed when she heard Byakuya's voice coming from inside there, it wasn't enough to make her want to barge in- whatever it was, she highly doubted she wanted to get involved, anyway. They needed to have at least one sane person in the club amidst all this madness, after all, and it would seem that the task had been inadverdently passed on to the team's manager. It was almost frustrating for the young Matsuoka.

But mad though this club was... it was a good kind of madness.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, supermodels change really fast. Thank you reality TV for teaching me that. And yay for 50 chapters! (TBH this is taking a lot longer than I initially expected, haha!)<strong>

**Shout out to Savage Kill, theshrewdravenclaw, surlie, trunksgf96, Mazgrl98, AmIValid, Shizuka Kitsune, MyFriendsAreMyPower, KinakoMochi, RandomCelebLover, WalkingOnShadows, jab3205, NightmareMelodies, MethodicChaos, MortalLove17, vivvy09 and gabbylarson for all your support! We're approaching the end soon enough, peeps, so please bear with this lazy author a little longer, haha!**


	51. Chapter 51

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

The twilit sky seemed particularly fiery that evening as the Iwatobi bunch sat on the train that would deposit them at the station closest to the district where Rei lived. The sky seemed to be alive with every shade of red imaginable, encompassing the town with a mellow light as day turned to dusk. If there was one thing Byakuya absolutely loved about the sunset, it was that it was unfailingly beautiful- whether it was seen from a grassy meadow on the hills, or from a cramped space in a train filled with people that were weary and tired from a hard day's work, it never looked any less majestic.

However, on this particular evening, Byakuya's gaze wasn't drawn to the sunset like it normally was. Instead, her eyes were focused on her phone screen as her thumb hovered over the keyboard, and she bit her bottom lip in contemplation as she stared at the contact name.

'Aiichirou Nitori'

She didn't know how long she had been staring at the blank text message box, but when her phone buzzed again to alert her to her dying battery, she gave a short, impatient exhale and stuffed the device back into her pocket. While she had been contemplating texting Nitori for the sake of idle conversation- as per her initial plan- the moment she'd opened up her inbox, she was bombarded once more by all the previous conversations they'd held regarding Rin. The Shion gave another low sigh at the thought, brown eyes gazing out the window if the train as the scenery zoomed past. The view was somehow made more ephemeral in the light of the setting sun- as if it everything was bathed in gold...

What did Rin see in the sunset, Byakuya wondered? Did he still see tomorrow approaching in all its glory, signifying a new start to a new day? A desolate end to a day of hardship as darkness overtakes the sun? Did he still believe in a new light after the dark had passed?

Could he even see anything at all?

_'Rin-kun...'_

"Hey," A gentle voice called out to her, and Byakuya glanced to her left to meet the gaze of her childhood friend. Makoto just offered her that soft smile of his as he laid his hand over her own, giving it a light squeeze as he spoke. "Don't make that face, alright?"

"What face?" Byakuya muttered in response, trying to make it seem like she hadn't been letting her mind wander again.

"The one where you look like your pet just died." Haruka added his input from across where Makoto and Byakuya were seated, his arms crossed casually over his chest as he stared blankly at his two friends.

"I'm not making that kind of face!" Byakuya huffed.

"Actually, you are." Makoto corrected. Byakuya just pointedly turned her head in the other direction, not allowing them the satisfaction of watching her glower at their obviously correct statements.

"Here! Maybe this'll cheer you up!" Nagisa jumped up from his place next to Haruka, fishing out a candy bar from his pocket as he handed it to the startled Shion. "Food always makes things better!" He enthused happily, grinning at Byakuya in anticipation.

For a moment, Byakuya wasn't quite sure how to respond. She just blinked up at the Hazuki with his wide, cheerful grin, before her eyes slowly shifted towards Haruka, and then to Makoto. All of them were watching her reaction curiously, but not in such a way that it made her uncomfortable. They were concerned, she realized, and for some crazy, inexplicable reason, that small realization warmed Byakuya's heart. Even the small token Nagisa was offering to her seemed like a huge deal, and she had to restrain herself from just throwing her arms around the blonde boy.

"Thank you." She thanked Nagisa gratefully, accepting the snack he had offered to her. She wasn't just addressing him- she was offering her thanks to all of them.

"No problemo!" Nagisa chirped in response, waiting until Byakuya had opened up the candy bar and had taken a bite before he continued. "So, what were you thinking about?"

"...It doesn't matter anymore." She responded after swallowing her first bite, giving a secretive smile to herself as she shut her eyes. "I have you guys."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?" Makoto inquired, somewhat surprised at the response, himself. That had practically come out of nowhere...

"No, it's nothing." Byakuya just laughed quietly, offering her friends a small smile as she brushed off their confused glances. "We should be focusing on what to do once we meet up with Rei-kun."

"Oh yeah, isn't this the first time we've gone to Rei's place?" Makoto commented thoughtfully.

"I live nearby, so I've dropped by a couple of times." Nagisa added his input, the topic successfully changed. "His mom is really nice, too, and she makes the greatest cookies..."

As Nagisa began to update the group on the amazing culinary skills of Mrs Ryugazaki, a soft smile graced Byakuya's lips as she took a small moment to tune out all the problems of her hectic life and appreciate the small things she took for granted. The sound of Nagisa's bright and cheerful voice, Haruka's silent yet attentive and constant presence, the feeling of Makoto's hand on her own... all such little things, yet they were what held her together. No matter what hardships came her way, or whatever struggle she had to face... these guys made it worth it. And she knew they all felt the same way.

That was how she knew that they would be able to set everything right. Because even if Rin couldn't see past the burdens that the world had placed upon his shoulders, they would still strive to open his eyes; to help to ease his struggles as they pushed him forth into the tomorrow he had lost sight of. They would all make it through this.

For they believed in Rin, even if he himself didn't.

* * *

><p>"What gift should we get him?" Makoto asked thoughtfully as he and the others stood in front of a small grocery store, peering through the glass as they glanced at the various items inside. They had finally gotten off at their stop, and were venturing towards Rei's apartment complex, searching for a gift to get him along the way as well.<p>

"We should definitely get him a melon!" Nagisa suggested enthusiastically, crouching as he pointed at one of the large fruits sitting out on display behind the glass.

"There won't be any under 1000 yen." Makoto corrected despondently, frowning as he and the others crouched down to get a better look at the price tags on the melons. Even the cheapest one was 1200 yen. The variety of things you could buy with just 1000 yen were really limited these days- globalization made the prices of everything skyrocket.

"Do we go with strawberries, then?" Nagisa asked again.

"Wasn't it strawberry milk ice cream that made him sick?" Haruka pointed out, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Something didn't quite add up there...

"I highly doubt he'll take kindly to seeing those if that was the case." Byakuya nodded as well.

"Oh, that's right..." The blonde laughed albeit sheepishly, before attempting to change the subject once more. "How about bananas?"

"Should we even be bringing food if he has an upset stomach?" Makoto inquired, suddenly remembering their predicament.

"He might not even be well enough to eat something solid." Byakuya added, much to Nagisa's gradually increasing panic. "Maybe porridge or something would be more appropriate..."

"Ah, that's true..."

"Are you sure it was something he ate?" Haruka suddenly interrupted, catching everyone's attentions. The boy just met Nagisa's eye calmly, not betraying any hint of his emotions.

"Huh?" Nagisa tried playing dumb, suddenly feeling very nervous about the tone Haruka was using. Surely he couldn't have figured it out already...

"Or was it what I said yesterday that's bothering him?"

He stood corrected, then. The Hazuki just scratched his cheek in embarrassment as the others turned to shoot him astonished looks- well, at least he'd managed to fool two out of three of them. But he knew that they were all probably connecting the dots by now, and realizing that Haruka's statement made a lot of sense. The cat was out of the bag, then.

"Well..."

_'Sorry about this, Rei-chan.'_

* * *

><p>Rei carefully ran his index finger over the spines of the carefully arranged books lining his bookcase, his eyes glancing over the titles of each one as he sought out the one he wanted. Finally happening upon the theory book he was searching for, he removed it from its shelf, being careful to make sure the books around it were undisturbed so that he would know exactly where to put it back when he was done. The Ryugazaki then flipped open to the page he had last bookmarked, opening up his notebook and taking hold of his pencil, writing notes on the subject with his right hand, and holding the book open with his left.<p>

For the first few minutes, he was able to concentrate on the subject he was studying perfectly fine, without anything to distract him as he sat at the study desk in his room. However, his studious methods were interrupted as the events of the day briefly flashed across his mind, his pencil gradually slowing to a stop as he lingered on a particular memory. Given fiery exchange he'd had with the Matsuoka, one would think that the one thing that stood out the most to him would have been the intense glares they had targeted at each other as their tempers erupted. But that wasn't it at all, none of those furious expressions and accusations were prominent in his mind- though admittedly, they left their impact as well. No, the thing that really burnt it's image into Rei's brain was the look on Rin's face when the Ryugazaki had expressed how he'd felt about swimming with his team- the joy, the unity, the kinship...

Rin's face had been absolutely distraught. There way just no other way to put it- it was as if hearing the words that fell from Rei's lips had torn him apart.

Rei just stared blankly at his notebook as he wondered just what feelings his words had induced in the Matsuoka, and what his reaction meant. It was as if towards the end of their confrontation, Rin had just lost the will to fight back, numbly allowing Rei to leave. The bluenette wondered if Rin had even heard what he'd said just before he'd left- if he had gone too far with his words. Had he crossed the line with his accusations...?

Before he could pursue that thought, however, a knocking at his front door brought him out of his contemplation, and he curiously turned his head in the direction of the sound. That was strange- he wasn't expecting any guests today, and his parents weren't supposed to be back until later... who could it be?

The Ryugazaki hastily made his way out of his room and towards the door, not wanting his guest to have to wait too long for him to invite them in- if he or she was even a guest at all. As he idly ran through a list of people he expected to see as he opened the door, he was taken aback when he finally saw just who it was standing outside...

"Heya, Rei-chan!" Nagisa waved at the bluenette cheerily as he stood between the rest of the Iwatobi bunch, all of them greeting him warmly as he held open the door in surprise.

"We're here to see you." Makoto added, shooting Rei a polite smile. Haruka simply nodded in Rei's direction, while Byakuya just offered Rei a mock-salute.

"Everyone..." Rei trailed off for a moment, surprised to see them all gathered at his front door before his manners kicked in again. "Ah, please come inside." He ushered them in, holding the door open a bit wider.

"Thanks!" Nagisa cheered, dashing inside without a moment's hesitation- he'd been here before, after all. The others followed suit- though at a noticeably slower pace- and waited patiently for Rei to close and lock the door once again before he lead them to his room to discuss... well, whatever it was they were here for.

"Why is everyone here?" Rei asked as they entered his bedroom- it was very neatly made and was quite big, so Rei had no qualms about bringing them in here. Nagisa didn't hesitate to leap onto Rei's bed and made himself comfortable- the bluenette didn't mind, seeing as it was expected of the Hazuki- while the others simply waited for his permission to sit down.

"You weren't at practice today, so we came to see you." Makoto explained, raising the plastic bag in his hands which contained the gift they had all decided on buying for the Ryugazaki.

"How are you doing, by the way?" Byakuya inquired worriedly. Rei was somewhat perplexed upon hearing that- did they assume that he wasn't feeling well?

"Oh, I was-"

"Heyyyy you look like you're gonna be just fine!" Nagisa jumped up and was at Rei's side immediately, laughing nervously as he subtly pushed Rei back a little- a clear message to the Ryugazaki that he wanted him to keep silent and play along. He must have covered for his absence, Rei realized.

"Gou-chan and Ama-chan were worried, too!" Nagisa added, turning to pout at his fellow underclassman, who continued to look increasingly perplexed. The blonde just continued, however, imitating their coach's rough, deep voice as he spoke. "Goro-chan was worried you weren't taking care of yourself with a tournament coming up."

"Everyone was worried about me?" Rei asked confusedly as if confirming what he was hearing.

"Of course." Haruka responded simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"It was the first time you've ever missed practice." Makoto added as he smiled at the Ryugazaki. "It'd be one thing if Nagisa missed-"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Nagisa accused, glaring suspiciously at Makoto through narrowed eyes. The Tachibana just laughed upon the blonde's indignant expression, immediately apologizing for his implication. All the while, Rei just stared at the group before him with a stunned expression on his face. Had they all really...

"Don't look so surprised." A hand patted Rei's shoulder firmly, snapping him out of his thoughts as he turned to face the female senior standing to his left. Byakuya just offered him a wry smirk, her voice low as she addressed Rei personally. "Did you really think we'd brush off your absence just like that?"

"Senpai..." Rei trailed off.

"You're one of us now, Butterfly-chan." Byakuya shrugged, patting the boy's shoulder once more before she moved toward the table, winking back at Rei playfully. "You couldn't get us to not worry about you even if you tried."

The boy just blinked again in confusion, his mind still barely able to catch up with all that he was hearing. He still couldn't believe it- they were all concerned about him...

"Oh, these are all incredible!" Makoto's voice caught his attention once more, and he turned to see the group all sitting around the table. Makoto and Haruka were sitting on one end- right next to the glass cabinet in his room which displayed his numerous awards- while Nagisa sat opposite them, also staring in fascination at the trophies lining the shelves. "Are they from middle school?"

"Ah, yes," Rei managed to speak, though he still wore a somewhat dazed expression as he sat next to Nagisa. "But that's all in the past."

"Now he has all these swimming books!" The Hazuki announced exuberantly, throwing his arms out as he gestured to the huge bookshelf next to the study desk. Each and every one of the shelves were thickly packed with books- there was hardly any space left for any more to be added.

"Oh, you're right!" Makoto exclaimed in awe, his eyes roving over the various titles of the books.

"What a collection..." Byakuya murmured as she sat down next to Haruka, sitting as close to the bookshelf as possible.

"You've read all these?" Makoto asked, turning towards Rei once again.

"Yes. I have all the theories down." Rei explained.

"Rei-chan, you're not supposed to say that!" Nagisa reprimanded poutingly. "You'll set yourself up to fail!"

"Why would you say that?" Rei exclaimed indignantly, a vein in his temple throbbing at the blonde's ridiculous statement! He so did not 'set himself up to fail'! That was just petty...

"Rei," A solemn, steady voice interrupted the two boys before their banter could continue, and the Ryugazaki turned towards the one who had called him, violet eyes meeting calm blue. Haruka's face was passive as he spoke. "Did you really go to see Rin?"

"I told them everything." Nagisa confessed sheepishly when Rei's eyes widened upon Haruka's statement, deciding to enlighten the boy on how they had come to that conclusion. He felt immensely guilty- he should have kept Rei's secret better. "I'm sorry, Rei-chan."

"...It's okay." Rei reassured with a small smile after a brief pause, doing his best to alleviate some of Nagisa's worry. When he turned back to his seniors, his expression was solemn as he answered. "Yes, I did."

"Was it because I told you about our past?" Haruka asked.

"No, I had my own reasons for wanting to see Rin-san." Rei responded vaguely.

"Is that so..." Byakuya trailed off, her eyes cast shamefully to the ground. Makoto, Nagisa and Haruka wore similar expressions on their faces as well- clearly, they were somewhat upset that it had to come to this. If they had managed to explain things truly and fully to Rei, then he wouldn't have needed to go so far...

"But it's okay now." Rei continued all of a sudden, his determined voice catching their attentions immediately. The Ryugazaki just lifted his nose proudly into the air, speaking with absolute certainty in his tone. "I'm done worrying about him! It's not my problem!"

His confident statement caught them all off-guard, but their surprise quickly morphed into relief and happiness as they all traded joyous looks with each other. He was right- whatever it was that Rei had confronted Rin about, or how it had gone down, none of that mattered anymore. The most important thing was that they could now be truly united as a team, with no barriers or untruths between them.

"Alright, then." Haruka nodded firmly, his azure eyes alight with fierce determination as he met Rei's gaze. "We're all a team now, Rei."

"Haruka-senpai..." Rei couldn't help but feel an extreme sense of elation upon hearing those words fall from Haruka's lips. To hear the person he admired most acknowledge him as such a significant part of the team... words could not express his joy.

"Yep. We need you to contribute to our team." Makoto added.

"That's right! Every member is irreplaceable!" Nagisa pumped his fist enthusiastically, grinning at the bluenette.

"And it wouldn't be the Iwatobi Swim Team without our beautiful Butterfly-chan now, would it?" Byakuya smirked good-naturedly. Upon all his teammates' words of encouragement, Rei felt his heart swell with happiness, till it felt like it was going to explode. These were the guys he swam and trained so hard with. This was his team.

This was the family he was bringing to the top.

"Yes!" Rei broke into a wide grin, and he nodded proudly at his teammates. Nagisa's own grin widened at that, and he threw his arms into the air enthusiastically.

"Then, let's all take a break!"

* * *

><p>"Why did you bring melon bread as a gift?" Rei deadpanned, staring at the bag containing five packets of said pastries in Nagisa's hands. The others just wore sheepish expressions on heir faces as they sat around the table, somewhat embarrassed to confess the real reason for their cheapskate gift...<p>

But of course, Nagisa held no such reservations.

"Because an actual melon would have been too expensive. This is really good, though!" The Hazuki continued, ripping open one of the packets. He then leaned halfway across the table and all but pushed the bread into Haruka's face, urging the boy to take a bite. "Here, Haru-chan! Open wide!

"No, that's okay-" But before the Nanase could respond properly, Nagisa just shoved the bread into his mouth, having taken advantage of his speech to do so.

"Well? Isn't it good?" Nagisa asked eagerly, shifting the bread up and down in an attempt to make Haruka swallow a bite. Unfortunately, Nagisa had unwittingly inserted too much of the melon bread into his friend's mouth, and Haruka was finding it extremely difficult to do so.

"Are you sure you should be force feeding him like that?" Byakuya asked worriedly, watching in disdain as Nagisa obliviously continued to watch Haruka expectantly, hoping for a positive response. The blonde didn't exactly use the most sophisticated methods to get his point across...

"Losing... moisture..." Haruka managed to choke out through his mouthful of bread, his voice unnaturally weak. Much to everyone's shock, he suddenly looked a lot paler than before, and they immediately leapt to their feet in worry.

"Are you alright, Haru?!" Makoto exclaimed fretfully, his eyes wide as he watched his best friend wither away right before his very eyes.

"H-hey! His face is turning blue!" Byakuya cried, quickly tugging Nagisa's hand- the one that held the bread to Haru's mouth- away and watching as Haruka swallowed immediately. However, much to their horror, he still seemed to be extremely limp after that ordeal- had the bread sucked up all the moisture he'd had somehow?- and they all flew into a frenzy again.

Well, all of then except Nagisa, who still looked completely lost as to what was going on.

"Hey, Rei!" Makoto ordered quickly, his tone urgent. "Grab something to drink! Quick!"

"Understood!" Rei responded immediately, leaping to his feet and running out of his room to retrieve what he had been ordered to. Thank goodness for all that time he'd been on the track team- it made his task a lot quicker.

"Do I Heimlich him or something?" Byakuya asked, unsure of what to do as she panicked.

"That won't work! He isn't choking- it's the lack of moisture!" Makoto replied quickly, looking just as helpless as she did.

"So what do I do? Spit on him?"

"No!"

"Haru-chan..." Nagisa just continued to stare at Haruka in confusion, still unsure of what was going on. He didn't know melon bread could do that to a person...

"The drink that goes best with melon bread..." Rei's voice suddenly caught their attentions, and they all looked up to see the bluenette standing dramatically in the doorway. He was raising a bottled drink in one hand, while the other pushed his glasses up in his trademark fashion as he continued his proclamation. "Is barley tea! The Ryugazaki family has been pairing barley tea with melon bread since my grandfather's time!"

"Now isn't the time for dramatics!" Byakuya interrupted exasperatedly. She wasn't sure if it had ever happened before, but she wasn't too eager to let Haru be the first person to die of melon bread asphyxiation.

"Just bring him something to drink!" Makoto added as well, his expression growing more frantic by the second.

"Water..." Haruka called weakly, his voice sounding even wispier than before.

"Ah, Haru!" Makoto's attention immediately went back to Haruka, and he looked like he was about to pass out at any second.

"How is this even possible?!" Byakuya cried in a mixture of fear and confusion.

"Is Haru-chan okay...?" Nagisa asked, perplexed. Bless his innocent soul.

"How can you be so calm?! Haru!"

Amidst all the chaos caused by his frantic friends, Rei couldn't help but give a warm smile, shutting his eyes briefly as he did so. These guys... they really livened up his life.

He didn't regret his decision to leave the track team for them. Not one bit.

"Hurry, Rei!" Makoto's urgent cry broke Rei out of his train of thought, and he was immediately reminded of the seriousness of the situation at hand.

"Oh, sorry!" He apologized fretfully, dashing towards the fray. "Haruka-senpai, I'm coming to help!"

"Don't die, Haru!" Makoto cried frantically, urging Haruka to drink the tea that Rei was offering him. After a tense few seconds of silence as Haruka gulped own the barley tea, his face finally began to regain it's normal colour, and he pulled the bottle away from his lips with a gasp, panting for air. That was a close one...

"Oh, thank goodness..." Makoto sighed, nearly collapsing in relief. The others joined him as their tense muscles loosened up, all of them glad to have that situation handled properly.

"How did that even happen?" Rei finally asked the question that had been on all of their minds.

"Maybe he's undergoing metamorphosis into a merman." Byakuya suggested as she leaned against the bookshelf.

"That's not it." Makoto corrected tiredly. Really, to think she could still think up such absurd comments at a time like this...

Well, it was one of the things he liked about her.

"What other explanation is there?" The Shion retorted weakly, struggling to her feet as she plopped herself onto the chair at Rei's desk for a more comfortable seat.

"High speed osmosis brought on by lack of hydration?" Rei theorized, placing a hand to his chin as he wore a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Oh, that could be it..." Nagisa nodded seriously.

"Of course it isn't!" Really, Makoto thought to himself- these guys could come up with the craziest things...

Haruka just silently kept on drinking the rest of the barley tea, not bothering to add his input as he nursed his dehydration.

As they all argued about other theories regarding Haruka's strange reaction to Nagisa's unorthodox feeding method, Byakuya's eyes fell upon the book sitting on Rei's desk, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. On the cover of the book, there was a depiction of a swimmer who had just finished his race reaching up to grasp the hands of his teammates, who were all reaching out their hands to him- it was very reminiscent of her boys, Byakuya noted with amusement. Accompanying the illustration was the title of the book- one that she found very fitting...

'Teamwork'.

A smile crossed the Shion's face as she read that single word, a sudden calmness washing over her as she was reminded of her musings on the train earlier. It only solidified her resolve- her realization that her concerns were unnecessary. As long as these guys were here, there was no need to worry about anything- whether it was her fear of failing to meet her expectations, or of losing Rin. They would find a way somehow- they were strong enough to do so, as long as they never forgot who and what they were. All she could do was trust in them, and to support them with everything she had. She had to be strong; not just for herself, but for them, as well- she had to be able to see that tomorrow in the sunset if she ever dreamed of sharing that dream with them as well.

This was no longer an individual battle... it never was.

Upon this realization, a peal of laughter finally escaped Byakuya's lips, interrupting her friends as they halted all speech and just turned to stare at the suddenly hysterical Shion. But regardless of their perplexed stares, Byakuya just kept laughing, unable to contain her joy. She didn't mind that she probably looked like a loon, or that they might think that she had finally snapped and had a nervous breakdown and were possibly speed-dialling the closest mental institution- she was just too happy. Her worries, her fears, expectations... none of that weighed her down anymore, because she knew that she had finally found what she had been looking for all this time.

She was home.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Fun fact- distraught is actually derived from a Latin word that means 'to pull apart'. Hence explaining why I chose that to describe Rin's expression. Hooray for your daily dosage of feelings 8'D<strong>

**Also guys, I know this is kinda short notice, but I might be going on a short break for a while (Exams and all) so next week's update will be postponed. At the earliest (and it's sorta unlikely), I will be posting chapter 52 up the week after next. Sorry guys, but... priorities and all. I will try to get back as soon as I can, but I do hope ya'll won't be completely sick of me by then, haha!**

**Thank you so much to PhoenixRage92, Mazgrl98, savitron9001, tessisbestnz, Shizuka Kitsune, MyFriendsAreMyPower, surlie, RomanticKissez, AnimexLuver4ever, DoIHaveTo** (thanks for taking the time to review! I am glad to hear that you find this story to your liking, and that the characterizations and everything are all fine in your opinion! Will try to keep it up, and don't worry- your fangirling is excused, haha! **) RosalieCullen1822, Sakura19Haruno95, Carolinefdq, OneWhoWasForgotten, Uruvia, MsWolffe, easily1994addicted, navybluebookworm, hetalialover7, and Lady Amazon! ****You're all amazing ;D**

**I'll see you guys next water time**!


	52. Chapter 52

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

A thrust of the arms from below to above the water, propelling himself forth with the momentum. A rise of the torso out of the water. A synchronized wave of the legs into a dolphin kick.

Rin repeated the entire process by bringing his arms back to the front, letting his hands slide back into the water to continue the butterfly stroke. He was currently training for the relay with the rest of his team, in which he would be swimming the butterfly leg. Normally while he was training, Rin would have no difficulties putting his all into his swimming, focusing all his attention on nothing but precise strokes. However, today was different; his mind was starting to wander- as it had been over the past couple of days, only now it was noticeably worse than before. It had been a gradual process- slowly, but surely, it was eating away at him...

_"I want us to become the best team at a tournament. I want to swim with them as a member of that team. That's all I want."_

That bluenette's words reverberated in his head, haunting his every waking moment. Even now as he swam, panting in between laboured breaths every time he broke the surface, he still heard those words, over and over again. And then there was what he, himself said, all those years ago as he grinned at them... his teammates...

_"I want us to be the best team around!"_

Rin gasped for air upon the next stroke, his timing thrown off when he wasn't focusing properly. Despite the mess-up, though, he continued to swim even with the time he lost due to his carelessness. But no matter how much he tried to tell himself to get a grip and to forget all about his ridiculous worries... he couldn't.

"Matsuoka-senpai seems really off today." Nitori observed worriedly as he stood off to the side, his blue eyes shining with concern as he watched the senior swim. Next to Aiichirou stood the team's captain, whose expression was solemn as he turned his golden gaze towards the younger boy.

"Did he say anything to you, Nitori?" Seijuuro asked, his tone completely void of any joking or lightheartedness- very unlike his usual self.

"No, he never tells me anything." Nitori admitted sheepishly, before he quickly recovered as he stood up for his roommate. "But I'm sure there's nothing to worry about! I'm sure he went through much tougher experiences when he was abroad!"

His defensive statement didn't seem to do much to alleviate his captain's worries, however- if anything, Nitori thought Mikoshiba looked even more tense after he'd said that. The captain wore an unreadable expression on his face as he fixed his gaze on Rin, as if thinking hard about something. Nitori didn't understand- had he made a slip of the tongue?

"Matsuoka didn't join the swim team when he first transferred here from Australia." Mikoshiba commented off-handedly, his tone contemplative. "Do you know why that is?"

"No, did something happen?" Nitori asked hesitantly. What was that question about, all of a sudden? He had always assumed that Rin had chosen not to join the swim club so early for personal reasons- maybe to take a short break- but the implication Seijuuro's tone held... was there more to it than just that? However, the captain seemed to catch himself as he spoke, his eyes hardening slightly as he subtly changed the topic.

"Well, the past doesn't matter- it's performance that counts here." He stated solemnly, as if he had made up his mind about something. "The fastest swimmer wins; it's that simple."

Upon those words, Nitori's eyes widened. What did that mean? The statement sounded so foreboding- it was a tone Nitori had rarely heard his captain use. And to hear it being utilized now, when they were discussing Rin...

Whatever it was, Nitori had a very bad feeling about all of this.

* * *

><p>"Gou!"<p>

Hearing her name being called, the young Matsuoka turned her head towards the source of the voice, pausing from her trek to the swimming club grounds and allowing herself to heave a small sigh as she briefly rested the plastic bags full of refreshments against the ground. School had only just ended for that day, and she was eager to get these things to the club building as soon as she could so that she could work on any last minute preps for the team. To think that in just a couple more days, it would be time for the big race...

"Ah, Hana-chan." Kou greeted casually, waiting for her sandy-haired friend to catch up to her.

"Oh, I'll give you a hand with that!" Hanamura offered immediately, taking hold of one of the heavy plastic bags Kou was toting- much to the redhead's relief.

"Thanks!" She said gratefully, the two of them heading on their way again.

"Oh yeah, by the way- some of my friends want to go cheer at regionals!" Chigusa enthused, her information startling the Matsuoka next to her.

"Huh?" Kou tilted her head in confusion. "Why are they suddenly so interested?"

"Because you made it past prefecturals!" Hanamura stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "That's amazing! A brand new swim club in prefecturals!"

Kou blinked in surprise for a moment when she heard that, not quite comprehending what she was saying. The full impact of her team's victory at prefecturals never really hit her, she realized, and now that Hanamura had pointed it out... she realized she was right. It was an incredible feat for their first competition! If only her brother could have been bere as well to partake in the joy of winning as a team too...

"It is a pretty amazing feat, isn't it?" Kou commented in agreement, trying not to let her pessimistic thoughts bring down the cheerful mood. Rin was in Samezuka, she had to remember that- she had to do her best to make sure her team made it to the top, too. Though she worried for her brother, her team was her priority.

"Yep!" Hanamura nodded, her bunned hair bobbing with the movement. A small, cheeky smile then crossed her face as she added on to her sentence. "Plus, they're all pretty taken with all the good-looking guys on the team."

"Seriously?" Kou started at that, her tone disbelieving.

"Well of course!" Chigusa stated obviously, before a thoughtful expression crossed her face. "But then again, Byakuya-senpai has quite a following amongst the guys, too..."

"What?!" Now Kou was completely taken aback. Since when did all of this happen?!

"Why do you keep sounding so surprised?" Chigusa sighed exasperatedly, pouting at her friend as if she was disappointed in her. "They're all dressed in swimsuits, for crying out loud!"

"The guys I kinda understand, but Byakuya-chan...?" Kou trailed off, her expression deadpan. Having actually spent time in the company of the swim team members, Kou couldn't imagine anyone wanting to actually pursue them in such a fashion. The only thing these crazies had going on for them would have to be their muscles, maybe...

"Speaking of whom, isn't that her?"

"Huh?" Kou was snapped out of her musings when Hanamura pointed at something in front of them, prompting her to follow her gaze. When her eyes fell upon two familiar figures a ways ahead of them, her curiosity was piqued immediately.

"Oh, it is." Kou confirmed as she recognized the girl's dark hair and broad frame. Her crimson gaze then slid over to the slightly shorter, blonde haired figure next to the Shion. "And... Nagisa-kun?" Kou was confused.

"What are they doing out here so early?" Hanamura mused aloud. She could understand Kou going to the pool early to make preparations for practice, but there was no need for the other members to be there just yet...

"Without any of the others, too..." Kou trailed off, her eyes widening as she suddenly came to an assumption. Nagisa and Byakuya, alone in the empty swim club room...

The Matsuoka exchanged a look with Chigusa, green eyes meeting red in a look of understanding. Without missing a beat, the two girls quickly picked up the pace, remaining as silent as possible.

Time to do some spying.

* * *

><p>"Why are we coming all the way out here so early for?" Nagisa asked as he strolled towards the swim club building alongside Byakuya, his hands casually placed behind his head. Normally, they- along with the others- would all only be heading towards the place later, but they still had at least half an hour before practice now! What spurred this on, he wondered?<p>

"I told you- I want to talk to you. It's sort of personal." Byakuya shrugged, before she shot Nagisa a vaguely annoyed look. "And besides, I bought you two of those overpriced snacks for lunch as recompense, so stop apologizing."

"They're not overpriced!" Nagisa complained, frowning at the girl next to him as their destination came into sight. "Besides, you got one for yourself, too."

"I never said I was smart with my money." Byakuya muttered, shoving her hands sheepishly into her pockets. Expensive though that Iwatobi Cream Bread was, it was actually really tasty. As the two of them finally neared the entrance to the old building, Byakuya just pushed the door open and headed towards the boys' locker room- given that it was empty, it was safe for her to enter this time; thank goodness. She would hate for a repeat of that last flasher scenario...

"So," Nagisa hopped onto the bench in the centre of the room, patting the seat next to him as he gestured for Byakuya to sit down. "What is it, Bya-kun?"

"Well..." Byakuya paused and awkwardly scratched her cheek as she contemplated her words, sitting down on the seat Nagisa had offered. The boy just waited patiently as he swung his legs back and forth, allowing her to think about what she wanted to say- Byakuya never was too good with serious talks. It could be a while until she figured out how to go about voicing her opinion...

"I never got to thank you properly, did I?" She commented idly, a small yet sincere smile crossing her face as she glanced at the blonde.

"What?" Nagisa started upon the statement, pausing from swinging his feet as he tilted his head at her.

"For everything you've done." Byakuya gave a short, nervous laugh as she flushed slightly, though the smile never left her face. "You... you were the first to wake me up."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, how do I put it..." Byakuya glanced at the floor for a moment, as if wondering how she was going to put forth her statement. "I guess you could say... I was lost."

That was enough to gain Nagisa's full attention. He didn't say anything- he just placed his elbows on his knees, leaning forth curiously as he listened intently to what the Shion was saying. Byakuya always appreciated that about the boy- despite how carefree he was, he always knew where to draw the line when it came to being upbeat or serious when the situation called for it. It would, however, make her even more embarrassed to be confessing something so deep and personal when he was paying such rapt attention to her...

"I was lost for a very long time, and I couldn't find my way out." She continued, not meeting Nagisa's eye out of meekness, though her expression was mildly melancholy. "Even though there was a path was right in front of me, I couldn't see it- it was too dark, and I was scared. So I gave up. I gave up searching for the road home, even though it was just waiting for me to get on and walk along."

Here, Byakuya gave a short laugh, before she looked up at the ceiling, her eyes shining as her lips curved into a smile. Her voice became lighter, and she continued in a happy, almost relieved tone.

"And then, one fine day, this bright, bubbly, and really loud star came crashing into my life again, and messed up my blank routine." She stated knowingly. "It shone so brightly, and with such magnificence that it lit up the night... so much that I was finally able to see the path I had missed for so long. For the first time in years, I could find the road that had been calling me home all this time."

At last, Byakuya finally turned her gaze back to Nagisa, who was staring back at her with wide eyes filled with surprise. She just gave him a warm, heartfelt smile as placed her hand on his head, her touch gentle.

"You were that star, Nagi-kun. You opened my eyes and let me see the path that Mako and Haru-kun had paved for me. If it wasn't for you... I might never have been able to start on my journey home. So thank you- thank you so, so much... for being you. I'm proud to call you my friend." She concluded finally, her tone absolutely sincere. She meant what she said- every single word of it- and she made sure he knew that.

And indeed, her message got through. Nagisa's eyes suddenly started tearing up when she finished her confession, and his jaw clenched as his bottom lip started to tremble- as if he was holding back a sob. Without a second thought, he just threw his arms around the Shion, catching her off-guard as he tackled her with his fierce hug.

"Bya-kun!" He blubbered almost incoherently, unable to withstand the feeling of warmth that had been kindled by the girl's short speech. To know that everything he did to unite all his friends was acknowledged, and to be thanked with such sincerity... it made all those painstaking efforts worth it. This was what he had fought so hard to achieve, and to know that he was appreciated for it was more than he could ever ask for.

"H-hey, don't cry! If you cry, I'll only end up crying with you!" Byakuya laughed in response, returning the boy's hug. Despite her words, however, Nagisa didn't miss the way her own voice wavered, and he just knew she was already close to tears- if she wasn't already doing so.

In the end, they both ended up having a good cry in the empty locker room, not bothering to hold back their overflowing emotions. The two teens sobbed like babies as they hugged each other tight, simply allowing themselves this moment of vulnerability. It didn't matter, though- neither of them needed to worry about the other judging them for this sentimental moment.

There was simply no need for masks among friends.

* * *

><p>"So that's what this was all about?" Hanamura whispered poutingly, as she and Kou crouched by the door outside the swim club building, their ears pressed up against the door as they listened in on the two teens' conversation. She seemed somewhat disappointed at the lack of drama this conversation was about, and had no problem with voicing it. "No dramatic love triangle or anything? Boring..."<p>

"It wasn't boring!" Kou hissed under her breath, before Chigusa suddenly heard a sniffle coming from her friend. Turning to the Matsuoka in surprise, Hanamura just gaped at her as she saw the girl's crimson eyes gleaming slightly beneath the light.

"G-Gou, are you crying, too?!" Hanamura asked worriedly, unsure of what to do about this situation. However, Kou just blinked repeatedly and turned her head in the other direction, sniffing once as she rubbed furiously at her eyes.

"I'm not!"

She totally was. But there was no way she was going to admit that.

* * *

><p>The first time Byakuya and Haruka ever saw a girl confess to Makoto was when they were both in their second year of middle school. Their usual trio had been heading back home when Kino Yukimura had asked to speak to Makoto alone for a moment. Byakuya and Haruka had- naturally- complied, and being the wonderful, caring, privacy-respecting friends that they were, graciously made the decision to spy on the exchange from a distance. Kino was the ideal girl- pretty, petite, and soft spoken, she had apparently gained feelings for him ever since he assisted her in carrying her things some time back. With all these traits, Haruka and Byakuya had been certain that Makoto would accept the girl's confession.<p>

So it honestly surprised them both when he didn't.

When asked about it, Makoto had just shrugged, stating that "I didn't think I could return her feelings".

Neither Haruka nor Byakuya ever prodded for more details- they were his own affairs, after all. Byakuya doubted that Kino's was the last confession Makoto ever received- he wasn't exactly unattractive, and Byakuya definitely hadn't missed the starry-eyed looks other girls shot her childhood friend- but since he never got a girlfriend during all their years together, it was clear that he still didn't find anyone whose feelings he could reciprocate.

It was an issue Byakuya had long since brushed aside, and something she was never inclined to think about again... until today.

The Shion's quick footsteps hardly made any noise as she navigated through the hallways of the school, heading towards her classroom as she muttered to herself under her breath. She had left one of the textbooks she needed for an assignment that day in her drawer, and was glad that she had noticed before swim practice. It would have been bothersome to have to borrow one of the guys' books instead- she didn't need to trouble them more than she needed to. Sliding open the door to the classroom, Byakuya made to step inside...

Only to freeze up when she was met with the startled glances of two people who had already been standing at the front of the otherwise empty classroom. One was Tomochika Anabuki; a girl whom Byakuya recognized as her classmate, and the other...

"I-I'm sorry- should I come back later?" Byakuya stuttered out as she met Makoto's surprised gaze, the heavy tension in the atmosphere prior to her arrival practically assaulting her the moment she stepped inside. Tomochika was just staring at her with wide grey pupils, and... were those tears she saw glistening in her eyes?

"Is she the one?" Tomochika asked, her voice shaking slightly as she turned back towards Makoto before Byakuya could be sure of what she thought she'd seen. "The one you said..."

Makoto just met Tomochika's gaze almost sadly, an apologetic look in his emerald eyes. Apparently, that was enough of an answer for Tomochika, because the brunette's lip trembled and she lowered her head in an almost ashamed manner. Byakuya shifted her weight to another foot uncomfortably- she had a pretty good idea what she had just walked in on, and given the manner in which Anabuki was acting... her timing wasn't exactly the best.

"I thought you two were just..." Tomochika's head trailed off, her hands gripping the hem of her skirt tightly. Just when Byakuya was considering the option of quietly slipping away and pretending she was never there in the first place, Anabuki bowed once towards Makoto, speaking quickly. "Thank you for your time, Tachibana-kun."

And then she turned on her heel and all but ran out the door, barely sparing Byakuya a single glance as she did so. The Shion started immediately, giving a small exclamation as she attempted to call out to the girl.

"H-hey, wa-"

"It's best to leave her be, Byaku-chan." Makoto interrupted, catching Byakuya's attention once again. The dark-haired girl slowly turned back towards Makoto, reluctantly tearing her eyes away from the direction where Anabuki had run. Makoto was just shooting her one of his gentle smiles, and if Byakuya hadn't just witnessed what she had, she probably would never have guessed that anything out of place had transpired. "Please don't worry about it- that wasn't your fault."

"Are you sure? I don't think I came in at the right time..." Byakuya asked hesitantly, glancing back over her shoulder as she stared once more in the direction where Tomochika had taken off. She didn't really know Anabuki, but still, she felt bad for invading on what must have been something private for her. She would have hated it if someone had walked in on her during such a sensitive moment...

And... she was forced to guiltily acknowledged the sense of relief that she felt about the rejection Tomochika had received, as well. It made her feel terrible, but it was true.

"Actually, I think it's good that you showed up when you did." Makoto's response made Byakuya turn back towards him in surprise, his honesty catching her off-guard. His expression was a bit more melancholy now, his green eyes reflecting some foreign emotion Byakuya couldn't quite identify. "At least now she knows the whole truth."

"The truth?" Byakuya repeated incredulously, utterly confused at this point. She was pretty sure that Tomochika had just confessed to Makoto- and from her reaction, had been turned down- so what on earth was that supposed to mean?

"Ah, wait a second- I have something..." Makoto suddenly mused aloud, pushing his backpack off his shoulder for a moment to dig through it. Though it was obvious that he was trying to avoid answering her question, the way he changed the subject so smoothly and with no hesitation was almost... scary.

For the first time, Byakuya found herself greatly concerned about how well Makoto could act.

"You probably came here looking for your book, right?" Makoto continued, bringing out a familiar textbook and handing it to Byakuya- how he had possibly known that she had left it behind, she had no clue. "I was going to give it back to you, but since Anabuki-chan asked to speak to me, it took longer than I expected. I hope you don't mind."

"It's alright." Byakuya replied quietly, reaching out to accept the book. As she accepted it, however, she found it very difficult to look Makoto in the eye.

"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked worriedly. Finally lifting her eyes back to his face, his expression was filled with such genuine concern it almost made her wince to see it. It wasn't simply an act he was putting on, she realized- it was just the way he naturally was. Completely, utterly, and almost irrationally selfless.

'Just how much do you hold back?'

"Are you okay?" Byakuya blurted out, unable to stop herself any longer. She wasn't just asking this question as a simple generality- she wanted the truth. Was he unnerved? Did he feel perturbed that she had interrupted a personal conversation? Miffed? Annoyed? Even if all he was feeling right now was something as simple and senseless as a sudden craving for chocolate, she wanted to know. "And don't lie, or tell me half-truths, or brush it off as nothing. It's not, so please, tell me what you're thinking. Please."

She had always opened up to him- all she wanted was for him to do the same. And she could tell that Makoto sensed that, because his expression solemned as he averted his gaze shamefully.

"...It's never easy to turn someone down- especially when they bare their heart to you." He admitted solemnly. "I just hope I didn't hurt her too badly."

Makoto fell silent after that, not quite knowing how or wanting to elaborate further. Even if it wasn't the first time he'd had to turn a girl down... it never got any easier, and the guilt never lessened. Byakuya just bit the inside of her cheek as she mulled over what he had said, contemplating what to say after hearing that. She wasn't sure how to respond- she didn't exactly have expertise in this field... What could she possibly say that could reassure Makoto?

Tightening her hold on her textbook, Byakuya took a deep breath to buy a bit more time to think, exhaling slowly as she came to a decision. The first thing she did was step forth and grace Makoto's shoulder with a light, friendly punch, though her voice was serious as she spoke.

"Don't worry too much about it- it's not the end of the world. I'm pretty sure Anabuki-san knows that too, and she's tough enough to get herself back on her feet." She assured kindly, hoping to alleviate his mood. Makoto had glanced up curiously upon her gesture, and Byakuya just smiled back in what she hoped was a confident manner. "You did the right thing- you owed Anabuki-san the same honesty she displayed when she confessed her own feelings to you. So... stop feeling so bad about it, alright? It's better to receive the whole truth than half a lie."

For a moment, Makoto just blinked down at her, as if he wasn't sure if he had heard right. And then, after scrutinizing her for a few more seconds- which felt like an eternity to Byakuya, who wondered if she'd said the wrong thing- his lips twitched at the corners, stretching into that beautiful, heartwarming smile that never failed to brighten up anyone's day.

It was with a great degree of happiness that Byakuya realized that she was the one to put that smile back on his face- this time, for real.

"Yeah. I think... you're right." Makoto agreed readily, his eyes shining with that same unfamiliar emotion from earlier that Byakuya couldn't decipher. However, that didn't matter- what was important was that he was feeling okay again. "Thanks, Byaku-chan."

"It wasn't a big deal. But in the meantime, we have other things to worry about!" Byakuya continued in a less serious manner, glad for the dissipation of the previously heavy atmosphere. She knew that Makoto wasn't quite over the whole scenario with Tomochika just yet, but at the very least, she knew that he wasn't as weighed down by it compared to before. "We have head to practice- we're leaving for the city tomorrow! What kind of captain would you be if you set a bad example by being tardy?"

"Of course, Miss Secretary." Makoto laughed lightheartedly. The sound was enough to make Byakuya's heart skip a beat- damn it, she needed to get a grip. Before she could respond, however, Makoto intertwined his hand with her free one, tugging her along as he headed out of the classroom. "Let's go, then."

"Uh, yeah." Byakuya agreed nervously, her eyes never leaving the hand that grasped her own. This was familiar, somehow- once upon a time, she had been the one who had tugged him along, urging him to follow her. Now... now the timid boy she once knew was all grown up, towering over her and his big hands practically engulfing her own as he lead the way this time. He was so different, and yet still the same...

"...I also told Anabuki-chan," Makoto suddenly added, prompting Byakuya to look back at him as they walked along. He didn't glance back at her as he spoke, but if it wasn't her imagination, she could have sworn that his ears were turning red. "That I couldn't accept her confession because... there's already someone I like. A lot."

"...Oh." Byakuya responded, her brain struggling to function after the possible insinuation behind that sentence had sunk in. Hence explaining her short, dumb answers. "O-okay then."

If Makoto hadn't been holding her hand, she would have slapped herself.

* * *

><p>"Okay, boys!" Coach Sasabe hollered into his megaphone as he stood by the poolside, watching as Makoto, Byakuya and Nagisa all moved into starting positions on their respective starting blocks. "And lady." The coach added on an afterthought, the Shion having raised an eyebrow at him in bemusement. However, that didn't break any of their focus, as the moment the coach blew the whistle, they all leapt off at the same time, each practicing their own individual strokes as a warm-up.<p>

"Get pumped!" Goro cheered his students on with great enthusiasm, urging them to put their all into this last training session before the big competition. Nearby, Rei stood by the poolside too, as he removed his glasses and tugged on his swim cap, preparing himself for his own warm up lap. Before he could move to enter his own lane, however...

"Come on, Rei." Haruka suddenly walked up to the Ryugazaki, startling him sith his sudden call. Haruka just wore his usual serious expression as he spoke, though there was a firm determination in his eyes. "Let's practice our exchange."

Though he had been caught off-guard by the sudden request, Rei quickly regained his composure, a grin crossing his face as he nodded enthusiastically. This was their last training session before the actual race- there was no time and effort to lose!

"Yes!" He agreed whole-heartedly, following behind his senior as he lead the way to the starting block. He had to try harder, Rei thought determinedly to himself, pulling his goggles over his eyes before diving into the water. The moment he broke through the surface of the water, he didn't spare a single thought. He went completely by instinct as he let his body move automatically through the patterns of the butterfly stroke. He wasn't going to slow then down- his team was depending on him, and he would strive to bring them to the top. After all, he was the Iwatobi's butterfly swimmer!

Perhaps this was what Haruka had meant back then, when he'd told him to 'dive in with your heart'. If it was... it felt marvellous.

"That's right! Keep it going!" Coach Sasabe grinned as he watched the club's newest swimmer dive into the water with perfect precision and form, just as he'd taught him to. These kids were going to be unstoppable! All of their determination, dedication and profound strength as a team... it reminded him why he loved swimming, and why he loved teaching others to do the same.

He may have been the coach, but in all honesty... these kids were teaching him a thing or two, themselves. And he was glad for it.

* * *

><p>Byakuya's limbs all but turned to mush when her hand finally touched the wall for what felt like the hundredth time that day, and she emerged from the water with a huge gasp. She panted heavily as she yanked off her swimming accessories and rested her forehead against the wall of the pool, her arms dangling limply at her sides. She felt like death after all that swimming- she couldn't remember the last time she had exerted herself to this extent. This had all better pay off by the time the tournament rolled around...<p>

"I think that's enough swimming for today, Byaku-chan."

A familiar voice caught Byakuya's attention, a hint of laughter tingeing the deep, gentle timbre. Byakuya painfully lifted her head from the wall- some of her bangs sticking to her forehead due to the dampness- and she beheld the sight of Makoto standing right in front of her lane, amusement dancing in his emerald eyes as he placed his hands on his knees and bent forth to better meet the girl's eye.

"You bet." Byakuya agreed tiredly, emitting a deep sigh. "I think my arms are going to fall off."

"Can you get up?" Makoto asked in mild concern, moving to extend a hand to the girl. However- despite her clearly drained physical state- Byakuya just swatted his hand away, sniffing almost disdainfully at his underestimation of her strength.

"I'm fine." She replied simply, placing her palms against the ground as she lifted herself out of the pool. Pulling her upper body out of the water enough to plant her feet firmly on the ground, she successfully pushed herself onto her feet...

Only to stumble upon the sudden pressure placed upon the stressed appendages. She probably would smacked face-first onto the ground if Makoto hadn't caught her... again.

"Fine, you say?" The Tachibana repeated innocently, raising a brow playfully at the Shion, who just blushed and straightened herself up immediately, huffing as she deliberately avoided his gaze.

"My foot slipped. That's all." She muttered defensively, unwilling to admit her own clumsiness. She really had to stop making a habit of having Makoto catch her before she could hit the ground as if they were playing some sort of rugby game...

"I'm sure it did." Makoto agreed, his tone laced with humour. The olive-haired boy then flicked her nose lightly, prompting her to glare at him as she rubbed at the spot he had annoyed.

"Don't do that." Byakuya mumbled, before she gave a small sneeze upon having her nose disturbed in such a fashion. Makoto just chuckled amicably as she did so- he took quite a bit of amusement from watching her sneeze in such an uncharacteristically meek way.

"Let's go dry off." He suggested, grasping her hand and tugging her along before she could protest. For a second, Byakuya almost pulled her hand back instinctively, but then she thought better of it. It wasn't too often that she got an excuse to hold his hand, after all... but she really hoped he couldn't feel her racing pulse while she did so.

She was such a girl she disgusted herself.

As the Shion made to dry her hair with the towel Makoto passed to her, she barely registered the sound of footsteps heading towards their position beneath the shade. Makoto had looked up upon noticing the approaching sound as well, and his inquiring expression quickly changed to that of a relieved grin before he glanced eagerly back at her. Byakuya tilted her head at that- what was he smiling about?

"Byakuya." Haruka's smooth, level voice called out from behind her, prompting the girl to turn around curiously. Much to her surprise, she was graced with the sight of not only Haruka standing before her, but also Nagisa, Kou and Rei as well. The three younger ones wore bright, expectant smiles on their faces, while Haruka's lips were simply curved upwards slightly.

"What is it?" Byakuya asked curiously, feeling perplexed at suddenly being confronted by all of them like this. Was there something going on?

"We have something we want to give you." Haruka elaborated.

"Well, some _things,_ actually." Nagisa corrected, hopping to the front as he whipped out something he'd been hiding in his hands behind his back, nearly thrusting them into Byakuya's face. "Ta-da!"

The dark-haired girl was taken aback for a moment, and had to blink a few times to get a proper look at what Nagisa was eagerly holding out to her. When she realized what the bunch of colourful, dangling items he held in his hand were, her eyes widened.

"These are..." Byakuya trailed off, hesitantly reaching her hand up to grasp the strings from which the Omamori charms hung, staring at them in disbelief. She recognized the violet and pink ones that her mother had given to Haruka and Nagisa before their relay, but in addition to those there were also two more that she now held- one in blue, and the other in a dark maroon. While each one bore varying designs, all of them had the same words stitched onto the front.

'_Have fun!'_

"Makoto-senpai mentioned that he gave you the Omamori charm your mother made for the team before the relay." Kou chimed in eagerly, leaning past the boys to get a better look at Byakuya's stunned expression.

"It wouldn't be right if he was the only one who made such a sacrifice." Rei added as well, his tone kind despite his matter-of-fact words.

"So we decided to give you all of our own, as well!" Nagisa announced, throwing his arms behind his head as he grinned. "Rei-chan and Gou-chan even taught themselves how to make some just like it so they could give you theirs, too!"

"It was fairly simple. Not too shabby for my first attempt, I must say." Rei boasted proudly, pushing his glasses up in a smug fashion. Indeed, his charm was made with great precision and steady handling, given the neat stitches. He had even sewn in a small butterfly into the mix, as well.

"I pricked my fingers a couple of times when I made mine, though." Kou admitted sheepishly, raising her right hand for emphasis- she had a plaster wound around her index finger, which had sustained most of the damage. She made a mental note to buy herself a thimble one of these days.

"But... why?" Byakuya asked confusedly, still not quite understanding what she was hearing. They had gone through all that work... just to give her these tokens?

"It's not just a gift." Makoto explained, his expression kind as he spoke. "It's a reminder."

"Huh?"

"Now you'll always know that you're not alone, even as you swim." Haruka interjected unexpectedly, his blue eyes meaningful as he met her gaze. "We're with you no matter where you go- always remember that."

Byakuya was too touched to speak. She just looked from her friends, all smiling warmly at her, to the charms in her hand- their gift to her. They had all given up something precious to give her this- whether it was their time, or something sentimental to them... it was a sacrifice nonetheless. For her.

A drop of water suddenly fell from Byakuya's still-damp hair just then, trailing down her cheek. Before she could make to wipe it away, however, the girl was thrown off-guard when she heard a collective intake of breaths. Glancing up at her friends once again, she saw them all staring at her in horror, as if they were suddenly being thrown into a panic.

"Byakuya-chan!" Kou exclaimed, dashing forth to grasp Byakuya's shoulders as she stared worriedly at the older girl.

"A-are you crying?" Makoto asked in an equally panicked voice, looking unsure of what to do. This wasn't how it was supposed to have gone!

"That's not it!" Byakuya shook her head exasperatedly, quickly rubbing her hand over her face to wipe away the water that had dripped down her face... and possibly some unshed tears from her eyes, too. But she wasn't going to mention that. "That was just pool water!"

"You're such a crybaby, Bya-kun." Nagisa laughed jovially, seemingly unaffected by the sudden sentimentality she was showing.

"I'm not crying!" Byakuya huffed defensively. Seriously, didn't these guys believe her?

"Senpai, it is perfectly fine to be touched by our gesture of goodwill to such an extent." Rei assured calmly. "It is a beautiful thing after all, to be granted such heartfelt gifts from your companions! There is no need to hold back-"

"I'm telling you, I'm not crying!" Byakuya denied once more.

"But you want to." Haruka added, his voice knowing.

"Shut up."

"Byakuya-chan, there's a saying that-"

"Don't go imitating Miss Ama-chan now!"

"That could make her cry for real."

"Hey!"

In the end, they all ended up laughing together as they poked fun at each other, the stress and expectations that were to come in less than three days seemingly forgotten as they allowed themselves this peace of mind. They simply enjoyed that moment of peace in their energetic, youthful lives, not feeling the need to worry about what the future held. No one's mood was left to remain down as they all lifted each other's spirits, not allowing a single person to feel left out or ignored.

Because at their centre, they were more than just friends. They were a team.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Andddd I'm alive, guys! Let it be known that exams are hell and that students should be paid for going through this. Also, I can't quite guarantee that the next chapter will be up by next week, too- still got a couple of papers to go. But just a heads up- the last chapter of this fic will be around chapter 57 or so, if my drafts ring true! So just a bit more to go, guys!<strong>

**All of my thanks goes out to IwouldifIcould, Kinako Mochi, MyFriendsAreMyPower, surlie, Shizuka Kitsune, Mazgrl98, LilacLilyFlower, toesliketowers, Sparkysalsa, silent-raven98, TheTinyMouse, rileylocke1, BlueEyedGirls, Scrubletta, musiclover3, LlamaChickenPie, PamiOtaku, summerowl, TheShadowInDarkness, zOMGPrincess, purple-princess319, LuzElvaParra17,WhispersXinXtheXWind, Ruyuz, taciturnAnalyst, and blueorangatan! Ya'll guys rock, and once again, I am sorry for the mess-up in my update schedule, but I hope this satisfies for now!**


	53. Chapter 53

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

**Also, happy 200 reviews, everyone! I am beyond honoured- thanks so much for helping me achieve this feat, guys! Ya'll rock, and I am so sorry for the delay! 8'D**

_A soft, nearly imperceptible knock on his bedroom door jolted the young Makoto awake right as he was about to fall asleep, his back going ramrod straight as he shot into a sitting position on his bed. Glancing at the clock on his bedside, he noticed that the bright, glowing numbers in the dark read '12.25 am'. Who on earth would knock on his door at this hour? Neither his parents nor his siblings could be awake at this hour..._

_The thirteen year-old clutched his blankets close, drawing them up to his chin as his eyes widened in fear. It couldn't be a... a ghost, could it? What did it want? Was it going to eat him? He was sure he wouldn't taste good at all!_

_"W-who's there?" The Tachibana demanded cautiously, trying to sound brave- maybe the ghost would leave him alone if he scared it away. When the door slowly opened, Makoto let out a small squeak and drew the covers over half of his face. He knew it would hardly work to defend himself against any creature that might be lurking outside his door, but it might help if-_

_"Makoto? Can I come in?"_

_A small, timid voice broke the tense moment, and Makoto blinked in the darkness as his eyes adjusted to the figure that now stood in the doorway, who hesitantly clutched onto the doorknob as she awaited his permission to enter._

_"Byaku-chan?" Makoto started, lowering his blanket from his face. He barely had time to exhale a sigh of relief that it wasn't some monster that wanted to make dinner out of him, but concern immediately overrode that relief when he noted the strangely downcast look on Byakuya's face. The girl had asked to stay over today, and was supposed to be sleeping in the guest room like she usually did. "What're you doing up so late?"_

_At first, Byakuya was quiet, staring at the ground as she shuffled her feet uncomfortably. Makoto just waited for her to answer as he sat in his bed, alert and carefully watching her expression. It had been two weeks since they'd quit the swim club, and thus it had been two weeks since he and Byakuya had an actual, proper conversation. Their lighthearted exchanges only lasted as long as he wanted them to- she had stopped replying conversationally; her answers came short and clipped, as if she didn't really want to talk. Despite all his attempts, she just seemed to brush him off, and unlike Haru, he had no idea what was going through her mind. It had confused him, but he still persisted- it was the least he could do to keep the promise he'd made to himself; to protect her. He would keep pushing, even though it seemed to be going nowhere._

_Well, at least- that's what it had seemed like. Now, as she stood at the door to his room, Makoto wondered if she was finally going to approach him._

_And she did._

_"...Mako, can I sleep with you?" Byakuya asked quietly, her feet pointing inwards in a tense, uncomfortable manner. She didn't even look at him as she spoke- as if she was expecting a rejection. Makoto's eyes widened slightly at the question- that wasn't what he had been expecting._

_"What?" He asked, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. Though it didn't sound loud or harsh at all, the way Byakuya flinched at his reply- one would think he had just yelled at her. Makoto immediately wanted to retract his words, but before he could say anything, the girl was already turning around, preparing her escape._

_"Never mind. I'm sorry I disturbed you." Byakuya mumbled. Before she could even take three steps out the door, however, Makoto was out of bed and at her side, one hand grasping hers frantically._

_"Wait!" He called out, prompting Byakuya to turn back in surprise. He quickly adjusted his tone so that it was softer, afraid that he might scare her off if he wasn't careful. Shooting Byakuya a kind smile, he gently tugged her hand, guiding her back to his room. "I didn't mean to sound like that. I was just surprised, that's all. You can sleep here tonight- I don't mind."_

_The Shion didn't respond to his words, but she didn't protest either- that was enough for Makoto to assume that she didn't mind what he was doing. Once the door was shut behind them once again, he waited until Byakuya got onto the bed first and was under the covers before joining her on his side of the mattress. Once he was lying down, he pulled the blankets up to cover the two of them properly before facing Byakuya once more, all the while wearing a smile on his face._

_"Try not to steal the blankets this time, okay?" He joked lightly, trying to ease the tension. However, Byakuya's expression fell again as he said that and she quickly lowered her head, her dark, uncut hair hiding her face from view._

_"I'm sorry." She murmured, her voice almost muffled as she spoke. Makoto was immediately concerned by the sudden change in demeanour once again- it had been a long time since he'd seen any expression on Byakuya's face besides one of confidence or snarkiness, not since her mom..._

_"It's fine, I was just surprised that you asked to-"_

_"No." Byakuya interrupted, cutting Makoto off before he could finish. "For quitting the swim club. I'm sorry."_

_Upon those words, Makoto's expression morphed into one of understanding, and he quietly reached out to grasp one of Byakuya's hands- which she had laid just beside her head- and gave it a comforting squeeze. The girl still didn't look up, but while it greatly concerned Makoto, he didn't let it show._

_"It's okay." He assured softly, his expression kind as he spoke. He had thought long and hard about that day at the school office, and after his emotions had settled properly, he had managed to form an idea as to why she had done what she had. And with the situation they were currently in... he could tell that his guess had been right._

_"I know why you did it." He continued, keeping his voice level as he spoke soothingly to her. He didn't know what these words could mean to her, or what they could possibly do to help, but he would do anything in his power to ease her suffering. "It's not your fault."_

_Those were the trigger words._

_All of a sudden, Byakuya's hands clenched into tight fists, and she all but threw her arms around Makoto's neck, catching him off-guard. The Tachibana nearly froze as she buried her head into his chest- though she clung to him with such desperation, he realized with a start that she wasn't crying, or even shaking. She was just holding on to him soundlessly, and somehow that was more disarming than if she had just broken down._

_"Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked carefully, trying to get a glimpse of her face as he carefully placed tried to crane his head back. She still didn't respond, not showing any signs of hearing him as she remained unmoving. However, Makoto knew she could hear him just fine, and as he slowly pieced together all of the events of the past few weeks... it clicked. He knew what it was that had brought her here, requesting the same thing she had asked of him when they were just eight years old, after her fight with her brother._

_She blamed herself for what had happened. No matter how irrational, or how misplaced that self-berating was, some part of her honestly thought she was responsible. Makoto realized- with growing solemness- that her reaction to him earlier wasn't because he had been too harsh... it was because she thought he didn't want her to be here. That he was going to leave her on her own._

_Like her mother did through death. Like her brother did when he left for the city to work. No matter the purpose or intention, she couldn't stand the idea of being abandoned by someone she cared for again._

_And Makoto swore that no matter what it was, he wasn't going to be one of those people._

_"You're okay, I promise." He whispered kindly, repeating the same words she had used when she had comforted him barely a year ago as he put his arms around the girl's shoulders, holding her tightly in his embrace. Things had been so different once- everything had been so much easier, and though he missed those days... he wasn't going to waste time in lingering on the past. He had promised back then that he would protect Byakuya, and now was the time to come through on that- he would be the one to give her the support she needed._

_She wouldn't stay this way forever, he knew that much. And until she got back up again, he would be there for her._

_"I'll take care of you. Always."_

* * *

><p>The iron gates of the cemetery creaked as Byakuya pushed them open, the sound of the squeaking metal making her cringe- wow, they really needed to oil those hinges. The Shion shifted the small bunch of flowers in her grasp, which she had gotten from Mrs Tamura- the old lady had graciously allowed her to pick what she wanted from her garden without requesting any payment, but Byakuya had miraculously won that argument somehow. The sweet, light smell reached hef nose again, and she inhaled deeply- Hashidoi lilacs, her mother's favourites.<p>

Adjusting the travelling bagpack she carried on her shoulders, Byakuya then trudged over the grassy fields, her sneakers making light, crunching noises in the dirt as she navigated her way towards her mother's tombstone. The weather was nice that morning- with soft breezes blowing past and the sun's rays not overbearingly hot, it was a great start to the day. As Byakuya finally reached the spot she had been looking for, she knelt down to set the lilacs on the ground before the tombstone and clasped her hands together to offer a silent prayer. Even after she finished the gesture, she continued to remain on one knee, silently staring at her mother's name engraved in the granite headstone.

"I'm back." Byakuya greeted softly, placing a hand on the tombstone as she smiled gently. "This has probably been the shortest interval between one visit and the last, huh? Oh, and Ao-nii called yesterday, too- told me he might be able to get off work early and head to the stadium to watch us, and that he's completely confident that I'm gonna leave everyone in the dust." She scoffed lightly, a smile gracing her lips as she spoke. "He hasn't gotten much better at lying, even after all this while."

The breeze picked up a little as she spoke, tousling some of the hair that dangled in a loose ponytail below the flat cap she wore. Her hair was getting a lot longer and she didn't have the time to cut it- she explained as much in the middle of her idle, one sided 'conversation' with her mom, even expressing her thoughts of letting it grow out since Makoto had once mentioned that he liked her hair better this way. Even if she would never get a response, Byakuya still liked to believe her mom could still hear her stupid, teenage ramblings like any other person.

After Byakuya ran out of things to drone on about, she simply enjoyed the blissful silence for a while. The weight from the bag she carried on her back reminded her just what day it was today, though...

"We'll be headed off today." Byakuya commented nonchalantly. "Watch over us, okay mom? Especially those boys- who knows what kind of trouble they'll get into when left to their own devices." Her hand tightened slightly on the tombstone as she spoke, her voice determined. "And... if you're there where Rin-kun's dad is... tell him to watch out for him and his team too, alright?"

Of course, there still wasn't any answer. But for some reason... the silence didn't hurt as much as it used to.

The brief peace of mind lasted for only a moment before the sound of the gate creaking open broke the silence. Turning to face the entrance, she spotted two familiar olive and dark-haired figures standing at the gate, the taller of the two rubbing the back of his head sheepishly for causing such a piercing sound in the otherwise silent surroundings. When they both looked up and spotted the Shion already staring back at them, Haruka just looked away in attempted nonchalance, while Makoto waved awkwardly at her. Byakuya just sighed, though she was none too offended by the interruption.

"Really, those guys can't even trust me to be here by myself. Overprotective little buggers, wouldn't you agree?" She commented lightly, directing the rhetorical question at the tombstone before her. Patting the granite once last time, Byakuya pushed herself to her feet once again, pulling the strap of her bagpack up on her shoulder as she turned away. Though she intended to just leave it at that and be on her way, something made her pause, and she turned slightly to throw one last statement back over her shoulder.

"I'll tell you how everything goes when I get back, okay? I'll have fun out there- I promise." The Shion spoke quietly, her tone sincere. She then hesitated for a bit, unsure if she could really bring herself to say it... but the words fell from her lips a lot easier that she expected them to.

"...I love you."

And then she went on her way, heading towards her two best friends as she left behind the tombstone and the violet bouquet that lay before it.

Nothing more needed to be said- for now, that was enough. And she would not hesitate to walk forth to do what she needed.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I've taught you everything I can!" Coach Sasabe announced firmly, a grin on his face as he, along with Miss Amakata, Kou, and a couple of the manager's friends stood before the members of the Iwatobi swim team as they gathered at the bus stop. Kou and a couple of her friends were also lifting a banner they had put together just in time to bid the team goodbye before their trip down to the stadium in Tokyo for the tournament, bearing the words 'Fire it up, Iwatobi Swim Club!' written in bold red paint on the front. They all grinned widely at the five teens, evidently proud of their achievements and wishing them the best of luck for further success. "All that's left is for you to perform your best!"<p>

"Fire!" Nagisa cheered heartily, pumping his fist in the air as he gave a little leap in enthusiasm.

"That banner is really embarrassing." Rei deadpanned, staring at the colourful design of said banner in mild apprehension. They were only leaving for the tournament, but they already decided to make a huge banner for them...?

"That drawing..." Haruka suddenly murmured, staring at the banner intensely. On the far left of the huge illustrative banner, there was a blown-up drawing of a very familiar looking rockhopper penguin. In fact, it kind of looked like...

Oh! It's the one that Haru-chan drew!" Nagisa observed in awe, joining Haru in staring at the illustration. The perfectly positioned shading, the detailed guidelines that gave it a 3D imagery.. the originally small sketch looked even better that before, if that was possible.

"I didn't think it'd be used for this." Haruka noted in vague surprise. He knew Kou had asked if she could borrow his sketch of the school's mascot earlier that week, but he never would have assumed that it would be applied to the creation of this massive banner. He had to admit- was somewhat proud of his work.

"Hm..." Byakuya just leaned in to get a closer look at the drawing, her eyes narrowed suspiciously- much to Rei's confusion.

"Something the matter, senpai?" The Ryugazaki asked quizzically. The Shion didn't respond for a moment as she stared into the dark, beady eyes of the drawing, as if involved in some staring contest... before she shuddered and turned away.

"Yeah. Still think it's creepy." She muttered. Rei just deadpanned at that answer- she had been doing that in an attempt to build a resistance towards her fear of the mascot?

"Scaredy-cat~" Nagisa sang tauntingly, hopping out of the way when Byakuya made a swipe at him. Miss Amakata just chuckled jovially at the scene they made- really, the joys of being young- before smiling at her students once more.

"Well, we'll head up there tomorrow morning!" She announced, nodding at the five teens.

"Get plenty of rest at the hotel near the venue!" Kou added authoritatively, her expression stern as she addresses her team.

"Aye aye, boss." Byakuya saluted, a small smirk tugging at her lips. It was wiped from her face easily enough when Kou punted her in the shin again, though, and she keeled over upon the painful impact- damn, she'd forgotten how hard their manager could kick.

"This is no joke!" Kou reiterated firmly as she turned back to the other four guys, who watches as their teammate nurses her bruised shin. The Matsuoka pointed directly at Rei as she spoke, prompting the bluenette to flinch slightly at being the new target of her attention. "Especially for you, Rei-kun! Don't spend the whole night wide awake again!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" He squeaked out fearfully. No one ever dared to defy the manager of the Iwatobi Swim Club.

"The Roman general Caesar said it best," Miss Amakata added her input, intending to impart some of her literary knowledge and encouragement unto her students. "'If we cross, we will wreak tragedy upon the world. If not-"

"Oh, it's the bus." Nagisa observed suddenly, cutting the teacher off in the middle of her dramatic speech as the bus pulled up behind the four teens.

"Looks like that quote's gonna have to wait, sensei." Byakuya chuckled good-naturedly upon seeing the downcast and annoyed look on Miho's face- she must really have been looking forward to declaring that quote. Makoto shot the teacher an apologetic look, before shooting all those who had gathered to see his team off one last smile.

"In any case..." The five members of the swim team shot the others confident, jovial smiles. "We're off!"

"Take care, you guys!" Kou waved enthusiastically, and the others waved back as they boarded the bus. Before Byakuya could enter the vehicle, however...

"Shion-chan."

The familiar voice prompted Byakuya to tense up for a moment, and she slowly turned around to see that Tomochika Anabuki had stepped forth from the group, and was now standing before her. The Shion had to suppress a nervous gulp- ever since she had noticed that Anabuki had come to see her and her team off as well, she had tried her best not to meet her eye. After that incident in the classroom the other day, the last thing she wanted was to cause an awkward scene right before leaving for regionals- she could only imagine how Makoto must have felt to see Tomochika there too. But as usual, he hadn't shown any outward sign of discomfort- his flawless concealment was quite discomforting, now that Byakuya really thought about it...

"A-ah, Anabuki-san." Byakuya stuttered slightly, shifting her backpack on her shoulder as she quickly attempted an apology. "Listen, I'm sorry abou-"

"It's okay, Shion-chan. I'm the one who should be sorry for making you feel awkward the other day." Tomochika interrupted Byakuya just as quickly, returning the Shion's confused look with a kind smile of her own. "I just wanted to say that I wish you the best of luck- both in this competition and your relationship with Tachibana-kun."

Byakuya blinked in surprise at her classmate, seemingly having trouble processing her words. Tomochika wasn't upset at her? In fact, she was wishing her luck? That was... unexpected.

But in a good way.

Hesitantly returning the Anabuki's smile, Byakuya gratefully expressed bowed towards the girl. "Thank you."

"No problem." Anabuki returned just as graciously. Though Byakuya could still see a hint of disappointment lingering in her eyes from her rejection at Makoto's hand, she could tell that her wishes were sincere- and that was enough for Byakuya.

"Are you getting on, miss?" The bus driver asked from his seat at the wheel of the bus, breaking the moment between Byakuya and her classmate and causing the Shion to flush- she was wasting time, here!

"Sorry, sorry!" Byakuya apologized quickly, practically leaping up the stairs and onto the bus. She turned back once to shoot them all a grin again, waving at them cheerfully. "See you guys! And thanks again, Anabuki-san!"

As the dark-haired girl moved towards the back of the bus and sat herself in the row in front of the one in which Makoto and Haruka sat, she just let out a long exhale, a tired smile crossing her face. It felt like a weight had been taken off her heart, and she couldn't be more relieved.

"What was that about, Byaku-chan?" Makoto asked curiously, leaning forth as he looked over the seat to get a look at her face. His expression was somewhat cautious as he spoke, though Byakuya simply responded with a light grin.

"Anabuki-san says she wishes you good luck." She responded easily, a teasing tone to her voice. "With that girl you said you liked."

"O-oh." Makoto's face reddened almost immediately once he registered what she had said, and he quickly cringed back into his seat and hid his face from sight. "I see."

Byakuya's light smirk just widened as he did so, her amusement at his embarrassment clearly evident. What a dork- and judging from the low sigh she could have sworn she heard coming from Haru, he shared her sentiments, too.

She wouldn't let Tomochika's blessing go to waste, though. Once this tournament was over, whether they all made it to regionals or not... she would do it. With this race, everything would be settled one way or another, and there was simply no more reason to put it off. She would be ready to tell Makoto how she felt.

That is, if he didn't faint before she did.

* * *

><p><strong>-x-x-x-<strong>

**Sender: Gou Matsuoka**

**Subject: Big Brother**

**Best of luck to both sides! Let's make it to nationals!**

**-x-x-x-**

Rin Matsuoka could only stare at the brightly glowing letters of the message displayed on his phone screen, his expression inscrutable as he read the short message over and over. He had been in the middle of heading onto the school bus that would take him and his teammates to the hotel they were supposed to rest in before the big competition when the message had arrived, and now all he could do was stare, unfeeling, at the text his little sister had sent. Best of luck to both sides, huh...

"What is it?" The timid voice of Aiichirou Nitori asked just then, the younger boy having noticed as his senior paused in his steps and stared at his phone.

"Nothing." Rin responded shortly, and Nitori was- once again- brushed off as Rin simply turned away, continuing his walk towards the bus as he ignored Nitori's concern. Aiichirou could do nothing but watch as the Matsuoka walked on and pretended he was fine, when clearly, he wasn't. It was most concerning behaviour, and Nitori couldn't help but feel more worried than ever now that the competition was so close at hand...

A sudden beeping from his own phone startled the boy in the middle of his musings, and he gave a small exclamation as he dropped his luggage bag and scrambled to reach his phone. As soon as he drew it out of his pocket, he was surprised to see the message that awaited him...

**-x-x-x-**

**Sender: Byakuya Shion**

**Subject: Fly high!**

**Good luck to your team, Nitori-kun! Wishing you all the best!**

**xoxo**

**-x-x-x-**

"Shion-senpai..." Nitori couldn't help but be surprised- Byakuya hadn't contacted him in a while; not since her training got more and more intense and she had less time to chat with him. Nitori didn't mind it in the least, but it was still a pleasant surprise to receive a message from her now, and it brought a smile to his face as he recalled the promise he had made to her.

_'Don't worry, I'll keep tabs on Matsuoka-senpai for you!'_

It was a promise he had tried his best to keep, and there was no reason he should stop trying- even now.

**-x-x-x-**

**Sender: Aiichirou Nitori**

**Subject: re: Fly High!**

**Do your best, Shion-senpai! I'll do what I can over here, too!**

**-x-x-x-**

"You'd better, Pilotfish." Byakuya murmured to herself as she smiled at the message she had received, her fist clenching in determination.

There was no doubt about it- she had entrusted the right person to watch out for their little Sharky.

* * *

><p>"Ooh, by the way- I got this new flavour of pocky!" Nagisa announced cheerfully as he leaned over Haruka and Makoto's seats, his upper torso practically dangling off the back of their chairs as he made his cheerful declaration. One of said pocky sticks was already dangling fron the boy's lips, and he held up the box fron which he had withdrawn it so that his friends could get a better look. As they all leaned in close to read what the box said...<p>

"Strawberry... horseradish?!" Rei read aloud, his tone betraying his bewilderment. Such a combination existed?

"Where the heck did you find something like this?" Byakuya deadpanned as she laid her elbows on top of her own seat, kneeling on said seat as she faced the lot of her friends.

"My sister bought it online." Nagisa responded simply, shrugging off everyone's confused gazes as he took out another stick from the box and munched on it.

"Your sister buys food online?" Makoto asked skeptically, his eye twitching slightly at the notion. The mere idea that there were people who bought food online was admittedly somewhat disturbing to him, for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

"Totally!" Nagisa nodded enthusiastically, oblivious to his friends' growing apprehension. As he did so, he took out one of the sticks coated in the strange cream and handed it to the Ryugazaki sitting next to him, waving it a the boy eagerly. "Here, Rei-chan! Try some!"

"N-no, that's alright-" But before Rei could finish, Nagisa just stuffed the stick into his mouth, the poor bluenette nearly choking as the blonde cheerily encouraged him to chew.

"U-uh, Nagisa, should you really be doing that?" Makoto interrupted nervously, watching in growing concern as Rei's expression began to grow desperate.

"Too late." Haruka muttered, feeling somewhat sorry for the underclassman who was being abused by the quirky Hazuki. He knew all too well what it was like to be in his position...

"I don't think he learned from that whole incident with Haru-kun." Byakuya agreed solemnly, taking off her hat and placing it over her chest in a respectful gesture as she silently said a prayer for the poor Ryugazaki.

"Come on, you guys too!" Nagisa then turned on the three onlookers, who immediately flinched back as the blonde shoved the box at them. "Try one! Go on, go on!"

"Uhm, okay..." Makoto agreed hesitantly, not wanting to hurt the boy's feelings... or to risk ending up like Rei, whose face was still blue as a stick of pocky dangled from his mouth.

"Thanks..." Byakuya thanked unsurely as she, too, drew out a stick from the box, followed by Haruka. After the three of them exchanged a solemn look of agreement- possibly mingled with a message of 'if we die, bury us in that nice spot under the tree'- they all took a bite at the same time.

Makoto was the first to gag.

"This is..." He coughed out, unable to complete his sentence. This stuff was terrible! Completely and utterly-

"Delicious!" Byakuya mumbled, her eyes wide as she savoured the taste of the concoction on a stick. In the midst of his choking, Makoto somehow managed to regain himself enough to shoot her a look of complete bewilderment.

"What?!" He exclaimed, staring in horror as the girl all but devoured her stick of pocky, seemingly hooked on the stuff as she looked up at Nagisa eagerly.

"Hey, pass me another one." She requested, trying to reach over to grab the box. Nagisa just pulled it out of her reach defensively, sticking his tongue out at her as he did so.

"No way! This is all mine!" He teased, his eyes glowing with mischief.

"Don't be a pig." Byakuya pouted, leaning over and nearly hanging off her seat as she grabbed at the Hazuki, who continued to dance out of her grip playfully.

"Nyeh~" He sang tauntingly, expertly evading Byakuya's assault, much to her chagrin. As the two continued to grapple for the small box of snacks, all Makoto could do was stare in complete disbelief, his face contorted into a grimace.

"There's something really not right with your taste buds." Makoto mumbled out, still gagging at the terrible taste the pocky left in his mouth. How could they even stand it?!

"I agree." Rei commented weakly, slowly recovering from the near-choking he had endured due to Nagisa's eagerness. That boy really was too eccentric sometimes...

"Actually..." Haruka interrupted the two over Byakuya and Nagisa's banter just then, prompting Rei and Makoto to turn towards him curiously. The Nanase was staring at the bitten pocky stick in his hand as if it was utterly fascinating, slowly chewing on the bite he had taken. The two boys watched Haruka earnestly as they waited for the effects of the horrible, choke-worthy snack of doom to plague him as well, preparing to pass him a sick bag or his water bottle as quickly as possible. When he finally swallowed the his bite of pocky...

"This has a rather interesting taste." He concluded, looking back at them with his usual passive expression. If anything, he looked like he actually enjoyed the snack as he took another bite.

Rei and Makoto blanched in unison.

"Not you too!"

* * *

><p>The moment the bus reached the rest stop after a good two and a half hours of driving, the first person to bolt out was none other than Rei Ryugazaki, who all but shoved his way past the others in his attempt to rush out the doors of the bus. Byakuya even stumbled back into her seat when the blur of blue and white dashed past her, and she barely even had time to register that it was the Ryugazaki before he was out the door, dashing in the direction of the toilet with his hand clamped around his mouth. Evidently, his motion sickness was acting up after such a long journey.<p>

"Run, Rei-chan, run!" Nagisa hollered as he lifted up his window, cheering enthusiastically- and somewhat sadistically- for his classmate. All he got was a gurgled protest in response.

"That was terrible of you, Nagi-kun." Byakuya reprimanded as she stood up again, waving away the hand which a worried Makoto had extended to her.

"You would have done it, too." Haruka corrected plainly as he made his way off the bus as well, followed shortly by his other teammates.

"Point taken." Byakuya muttered, earning a cheeky grin from Nagisa and a light chuckle from Makoto.

"Ahh, it's good to be on our feet again." Makoto sighed in relief as he got off the bus, stretching his hands behind his head and feeling a few of his bones popping as he did so. "My legs were starting to go numb."

"And to think we've still got a couple more hours to go..." Byakuya muttered, shaking out her legs a couple of times as she tried to get rid of the tingly feeling in her feet. "Why hasn't anyone invented a teleporter yet?"

"Because those are fictional...?" Makoto suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Have more faith in science, Mako-chan!" Nagisa tutted, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Where there's a will, there's a way!"

As if on cue, a loud growling sound was heard just then, and they all turned to look at Byakuya, whose stomach had been the source of the noise. The Shion flushed under their scrutiny, before turning away huffily.

"And currently, my only will is to find food." Byakuya sighed, before gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb at the numerous single-storeyed buildings which made up the rest stop. "Hence, I shall make my way towards the food court over there."

"Ah, wait up, Bya-kun! I'm hungry, too!" Nagisa called after the girl eagerly as she turned away and began her journey to seek out food, jumping up and latching an arm around her shoulders as he caught up to her.

"You're paying for your own food." Byakuya grunted, though she didn't brush aside the hand he had thrown around her. The blonde pouted at that, and he glanced up at the girl poutingly, pulling his best puppy-dog face as he attempted to sway her to his will.

"Aww, but Bya-kun-"

"No."

"Come on..."

As Nagisa kept trying to get Byakuya to look him in the eye- to which the Shion responded by stoically looking away each time he tried to jump into her line of sight- the two best friends walking behind them just watched on in amusement. When Byakuya finally ducked out from Nagisa's hold and all but ran towards the food court, the Hazuki was hot on her heels, complaining and begging for her to foot his bill all the while.

"Good to see some things never change, huh?" Makoto chuckled pleasantly, his emerald eyes shining with laughter as he watched the two teens. Despite their age, they could honestly be more reckless than Ren and Ran sometimes- in a refreshing way, of course.

"She's going to be broke." Haruka pointed out matter-of-factly, knowing all too well that Nagisa would find a way to break her eventually. With an appetite like his, Byakuya would be lucky to have even a quarter's worth of whatever allowance she had brought with her.

"That's an exaggeration." The Tachibana replied. Haruka simply raised an ebony eyebrow at his friend's statement, prompting Makoto to scratch the back of his head sheepishly in response as he attempted to change the subject. "Also, is it just me, or do they seem a bit closer than they were before?"

"You get jealous far too easily." Haruka stated. Despite his words, he didn't mean it too seriously...

"Yeah. You might be right."

...Which was why he was surprised when Makoto responded in such a downtrodden manner.

"Makoto?" Haruka glanced at his friend in vague surprise, watching his friend's expression closely. Though the smile never left Makoto's face, his eyes took on an almost melancholic look as he watched the two teens in front of them.

"No. It's nothing." He responded quietly, the strange look disappearing as he turned back and offered Haruka a slight smile- albeit forced, the Nanase noticed with a small frown. However, he didn't press the issue as he simply turned his gaze back to the front, all the while sporting a small furrow in his brow as he wondered what he'd done wrong. Something about his statement must have unconsciously struck a nerve- something that must clearly be sensitive for Makoto, if his response was any indication. But even so, the Tachibana was still as calm and collected as ever, unwilling to speak his true worries for fear of burdening them. Try as he might, Haruka knew that it was unlikely that Makoto would spill the beans- not unless he sat him down and had a long, serious talk with him, which was something he wasn't particularly good at...

As the Nanase watched while Nagisa and Byakuya continued their little game of cat-and-mouse, his expression grew thoughtful as he stared at the Shion girl's dark head of hair, an idea coming to his mind.

He wasn't good at heart-to-heart talks, but there was someone else who might be.

* * *

><p>"Itadakimasu!" Nagisa announced gleefully, clapping his hands together as he sat at a table in the middle of the food court with his friends, sitting before a large spread of food laid out across the table- ninety percent of which belonged to him.<p>

"That's a lot of food..." Rei observed nervously as he stared at the array of delicacies before the Hazuki, who looked far too pleased with himself.

"D-did you really order all of that?" Makoto sweatdropped, unable to hide his clear apprehension as he stared at the blonde, who just smiled innocently.

"Money draining midget..." Byakuya sighed under her breath, staring pitifully at her wallet as she stood some distance away from the group's table, still searching for her own food to buy.

"I heard that!" Came Nagisa's response, having heard the Shion's remark even as she stood almost halfway across the court from where they sat. Byakuya just waved him off exasperatedly, choosing to ignore the boy's indignation.

"Exaggeration, you said?" Haruka raised a brow at Makoto, who just shot him a despairing glance. The raven-haired boy then turned his azure gaze to Nagisa, who was happily slurping up a bowl of noodles at an astounding speed that had Rei looking on in complete fascination. "Just make sure you finish in time."

"Haru's right- the bus driver told us to be back in another hour." Makoto added. "We have to be done by then."

"Let's eat up, then!" Nagisa mumbled through his mouthful of noodles, pointing with his chopsticks so suddenly that Rei had to duck out of the way just as he had been about to take a bite out of his sandwich. Ignoring the pointed look the bluenette shot him, Nagisa just continued, "I wanna go check out that store we saw out in front to get more snacks."

"More snacks?" Makoto exclaimed, blanching at the thought. He dearly hoped that there weren't any other peculiar flavours of snacks inside the convenience store- heaven help them all if Nagisa found something else similar to the strawberry horseradish variety...

"Sometimes I wonder if there's a stomach in there or just a black hole." Rei muttered.

"Aww, thanks!" Nagisa gushed, oblivious to the annoyed and exasperated looks that his friends shot him at that. However, Rei just sighed and brushed it off, chewing thoughtfully on his sandwich as his mind wandered elsewhere.

"I do have to wonder- why didn't Byakuya-senpai just stand her ground and refuse to pay for you?" He asked as he swallowed a bite, glancing around to seek out the Shion who- due to Nagisa having taken up so much of her time earlier- still hadn't made her way back to their table.

"She's just soft that way." Makoto shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips. Despite her tough demeanour, Byakuya could rarely ever say 'no' to anyone- especially those she cared for. It was a trait that made it quite entertaining to watch her whenever she went out shopping with the twins- Makoto almost always found himself having to intervene before those two ran her into bankruptcy...

"Are you implying that Bya-kun's soft in other ways too, Mako-chan?" Nagisa commented slyly, his eyebrows waggling suggestively.

The comment induced the others' reactions instantaneously.

Makoto's jaw dropped, his normally tan face turning a very interesting shade of vermillion as he gaped at the impish blonde. Rei, on the other hand, choked on his food, and was smacking his chest repeatedly to get it out of his windpipe. In the meantime, Haruka just watched the scene in vague interest, sipping on his drink all the while.

"W-w-what?!" Makoto choked out, his voice strangled.

"You know what I me-"

But before Nagisa could finish, he was cut off abruptly when a new tray of food was set down on the table, next to his own, and an arm suddenly draped over his shoulders. A sudden chill ran up the blonde's spine at the contact, and the others suddenly looked significantly paler as they stared in horror at the space just over Nagisa's shoulder- well, except Haruka, who just continued to watch on in mild intrigue. The Hazuki had a very bad feeling that he knew just what- or rather, who- it was they were looking at...

"You better eat before your food gets cold, Nagi-kun." Byakuya sang sweetly, her face inches from Nagisa's as she wore a wide smile on her face. However, her cheerful expression quickly melted away, being replaced by a darker one as she met Nagisa's pink gaze with a warning glint in her eye. "Or else."

"R-right, Bya-kun. I was just kidding..." Nagisa laughed nervously, though it sounded pathetic even to his own ears. His fervent prayers that Byakuya wouldn't skin him alive seemed to be heard, however, as the girl removed her hold on him, her expression reverting back to one of cheerfulness as she grinned brightly at her teammates.

"So, what were we all talking about?"

And thus, the boys of the Iwatobi Swim Club were reminded of a very valuable lesson that day- and that was that no one should ever mess with Byakuya Shion.

* * *

><p>"This looks interesting." Nagisa commented in awe as he lifted up a box of seaweed snacks- mustard flavoured, Rei noted with a disapproving and somewhat disgusted frown. They had all finished their lunches already, and were currently browsing through the items in the convenience store at the rest stop out of curiosity. But of course, Nagisa- ever the enthusiast- was eager to try anything and everything new that he saw. "Let's try it out!"<p>

"That's a terrible idea." Rei corrected as he lifted up another box of the same snacks, his eyes glancing over the informational label behind the box. His frown only deepened as he finished reading, and he began his lecture immediately. "Look, the nutritional values are all completely unbalanced. Consuming this before a competition would severely affect our metabolic needs! We should try-"

"It's done!" Nagisa announced enthusiastically as he paid up for his new snacks, having walked over to the counter while Rei was too busy making his self-righteous speech. The blonde bounded over to the Ryugazaki just then, opening the new box of snacks as he offered them to the increasingly miffed Ryugazaki. "Let's see how it tastes like!"

"Would you listen to me?!" Rei exclaimed, losing his collected composure and prompting Nagisa to hug the box of seaweed close to his chest almost protectively. All the while, Haruka and the others merely watched the scene from afar as they browsed the other goods in the store, clearly entertained by the scene the two underclassmen were causing.

"Poor Rei-kun." Byakuya snorted, removing a bag of rice crackers from the shelf she was browsing- just in case she or the others needed something to fill their stomachs, she decided. Their bus trip would last at least another two hours, and that was only if traffic wasn't too heavy. "He just can't catch a break."

"Nagisa does make his life more interesting, you have to admit." Makoto agreed, earning a small laugh from Byakuya in response- 'interesting' was an understatement. When he noticed the Shion making her way to the payment counter, Makoto didn't hesitate to catch up with her, taking the packet from her hands before she could protest. "I'll help you pay for that."

"It's fine, I can handle it." Byakuya shook her head, attempting to convince him to return her stuff. He didn't budge.

"You just said earlier that Nagisa drained your money." Makoto countered, raising a brow at her and causing Byakuya to cringe- dangit, she had to be more careful with her words next time...

"That was an exaggeration. I still have enough to last this trip." She justified. Her attempts were to no avail, though, as Makoto simply walked over to the counter and placed it before the cashier before she had time to respond.

"Why are you so stubborn?" She asked, only half-serious as she reprimanded him lightly.

"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that?" He replied jokingly. Though he knew she valued her independence, he did wish she would be more willing to let him help her out sometimes- there wasn't much he could do for her, so even the little things mattered to him. "Just let me take this one, Byaku-chan."

"Fine, you win. But the next round is on me." Byakuya shook her head, playfully punching his arm as she did so. Makoto in turn responded by absently patting her head before he took out his wallet to pay... only to feel his heart stop when the picture he kept in it fluttered out onto the ground, face-up. It was the picture from the summer camp- the one that Kou had allowed him to keep; the one that had captured him and Byakuya as they sat by the beach.

The one she had not seen.

"Oh, I'll get that." The Shion offered suddenly, causing Makoto's panic to arise as he attempted to stop her before she could get a proper look at it.

"W-wait-!"

But he was too late as Byakuya picked up the fallen photo, getting a full glimpse of the scene it pictured. Makoto could only stare in frozen shock as he watched her eyes widen, fear overriding his senses. He was so dead! He had kept that photo a secret from her for a reason- the way he had been caught on camera looking at her would be a dead giveaway to his feelings! The Tachibana could only hold his breath as he waited for her to look up, to shoot him a look of contempt, or apprehension, or even disgust...

But instead, she caught him completely off-guard when she simply took his wallet from him, placing the photo back into the clear slot within it before she returned it to him without so much as a blink.

"Make sure it doesn't fall out again." She stated calmly, a light smile tugging at her lips as she held his flustered gaze. "It's a nice picture- it would be a shame to lose it."

"Right..." Makoto responded blankly, still not quite over what had just happened. She wasn't weirded out...?

"That will be 130 yen, sir." The cashier cleared his throat awkwardly from behind the counter, startling Makoto out of his disbelief- he'd almost forgotten why he was here in the first place!

"Oh! O-of course..." He mumbled out, quickly digging out the cash he needed before handing it to the cashier, who simply nodded as he put the money into the register and began printing his receipt. Makoto could have sworn his face was all sorts of red by the time the cashier handed him his goods, and he could barely look Byakuya in the eye as he handed her her things.

"Thanks, Mako." The Shion thanked happily as they moved away from the counter. And then- as if to add on to his utter surprise- planted a kiss on his cheek before she turned away, heading towards the exit.

Makoto could only stand there, stunned as he placed a hand over his cheek. She didn't- she couldn't have- in public-

"Also," Byakuya suddenly commented aloud, shooting Makoto a sly smirk as she glanced over her shoulder. "I've known about the photo since the summer camp. Kou-chan isn't very subtle with taking pictures."

"E-eh?!" Makoto squeaked out, his head spinning from all the surprises that he'd been assaulted with within the span of a few minutes. She... she'd known?!

"You're a naughty boy to try and hide secrets like that, Mako-chan~" Byakuya chided playfully, placing a finger over her lips as she shot him a wink, taking great pleasure in watching his face turn an even darker shade of crimson than before as she walked out of the store.

At that moment, it took all of Makoto's strength just to stop his knees from giving out beneath him.

"Keep yourself in check." Haruka commented out of the blue as he walked past the stunned Tachibana, his expression unchanging. "We're in public."

Makoto's jaw dropped again.

"I didn't need you to tell me that!"

* * *

><p>Byakuya hummed to herself as she hopped back onto the bus, tilting her cap at the bus driver in a friendly greeting before she made her way back to her seat. She and the others had all decided to make one last toilet break before they got onto the bus to avoid any further delay in their journey, so it was not that big a surprise to her when she saw that Rei was the only one who had returned so far.<p>

"The others aren't back yet?" She asked casually, flopping into the seat in the row beside Rei's- the rest of the bus was empty anyway, so she had free reign to sit wherever she pleased.

"I believe Nagisa-kun may have gone back to make some last minute purchases, too." The Ryugazaki sighed in response, pushing his glasses up his face before he continued. He had successfully stopped the Hazuki from purchasing more unhealthy foodstuffs earlier, but now that he wasn't there to stop him again, he wouldn't put it past Nagisa to try and buy the snacks behind his back. "Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai might be trying to restrain him before he attains them."

"If Nagi-kun wants it, he'll get it either way." Byakuya laughed, remembering all too well how prominent Nagisa's persistence had made itself known in his personality. "That boy has the stubbornness of a mule."

"It can be an advantageous trait to bear."

"'Twas that trait that got you in this club in the first place, eh?" Byakuya grinned at Rei, who simply smiled at the comment before his face fell, apparently remembering something. Upon this observation, Byakuya tilted her head- what was he thinking?

"...Senpai, I would like to apologize for how prying I was." Rei spoke up suddenly, making Byakuya blink- that was a surprise...

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused at what he was talking about. Rei simply cleared his throat awkwardly, before he turned himself to face her as he spoke.

"I was desperate to know more about Rin-san because of my own rampant emotions. And after all of you still continued to speak of him so fondly... I may have pushed the boundaries with my questioning." He elaborated, not missing how Byakuya's expression morphed into one of understanding as he bowed his head respectfully. "I should have focused that time on improving our relationship as a team instead of worrying about the past you had. For that, I am sorry."

For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence between the two teens, and Rei briefly wondered if the Shion was going to turn down his apology. The thought made him worry, but he didn't let it show as he awaited her response...

"Well, that's a pity, then." Byakuya scoffed suddenly, tutting as she shook her head. Her reply puzzled Rei, and he couldn't help but glance up in surprise.

"What?"

"Because I don't regret what you did, nor do I hold it against you." Byakuya continued, her hazel eyes holding Rei's violet gaze firmly. "You deserved to know, and it was our own fault for not telling you. You showed us where we went wrong as a team, and from that we've only grown stronger. So don't be sorry- because we should be thanking you." Here, she cracked a smile at him, her expression softening. "So on behalf of all of us... thank you, Rei-kun. We're glad to have you."

"Byakuya-senpai..." Rei trailed off for a moment, unsure of what to say. That wasn't a response he had been expecting...

"That's true." The smooth, level voice of Haruka Nanase interrupted just then, and Rei turned around in surprise to see that his other teammates had returned, and were standing on the bus as they all met his surprised gaze.

"How long have you guys been there?" Byakuya asked, shock evident in her voice.

"Long enough to hear your reply." Nagisa chirped teasingly, though he wore a gentle smile on his face.

"You've done more than we could ask for just to help us get this far, Rei." Makoto spoke up just then, catching the Ryugazaki's attention as he turned towards his team captain. "If you hadn't joined, we wouldn't even be able to join the relay."

"I just knew you were perfect for the swim club the moment I saw you!" Nagisa cheered just then, his eyes shining with pride. "And I was right- even if you do still sink like a rock sometimes."

"Was that last bit necessary...?" Rei deadpanned as Nagisa finished his sentence unsurely, earning a sheepish chuckle from the Hazuki.

"But either way," Byakuya continued, undeterred by Nagisa's light jest as she smiled softly at the bluenette. "You have a good heart, Butterfly-chan. May that never change."

As his teammates all reassured him of his significance to the team, and how happy they were to have him here, Rei could only smile back as he felt his heart swell with joy. These guys... really were his team.

"Of course." He nodded firmly, a confident expression on his face as he smiled back at the Shion opposite him. He truly was thankful to have met these wonderful people...

"Hey, you two." Nagisa interrupted just then, a playful pout on his face as the two teens turned to face him. "Stop looking at each other like a lovey-dovey couple."

"We're not!" Both Byakuya and Rei exclaimed at the same time, veins in their temples throbbing at the boy's insinuation.

And so, the moment was destroyed. Again.

* * *

><p>Byakuya slowly shifted in her seat as she awoke from her slumber, her eyes half-closed as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. This certainly didn't feel like her bed, or her room...<p>

The Shion sluggishly straightened herself out from her previously curled up position in her seat, slowly beginning to piece things together again. That's right- she was on a bus, on the way to town with her friends to compete in regionals. The girl gave a small groan as she rolled her neck, a small wince contorting her features as she heard a crack- damn, how long had she been out? From what she could see out the window, the sun was already setting past the horizon, the sky bathed in fiery shades of colour before the night came to overshadow the sky...

"You're awake."

The sound of the familiar voice Byakuya had grown up hearing coaxed a small chuckle from the Shion, and she turned around to see Haruka, wide awake and sitting in the seat behind her. Next to him was a sleeping Makoto, who had his arms crossed and his head leaning forth tiredly- apparently, she hadn't been the only one to knock out. She could see that the other two were asleep as well- Nagisa's head lolling to one side as he snored, while Rei just sat straight up in his seat with his head leaning against the back of the chair. Typical.

"It's sunset." Byakuya observed nonchalantly as she kneeled on her seat and placed her arms on the headrest, her gaze being drawn towards the sun that was slowly disappearing from sight. She made sure to keep her voice low as well, not wanting to awaken her sleeping teammates.

"A new beginning." Haruka added casually, earning a low chuckle from Byakuya as she looked back at him.

"You remember."

"I can't forget." He responded simply, earning another small smile from the Shion.

"Yeah. Neither can I." She agreed quietly, her expression growing pensive once more. Somewhere out there, probably heading to the same place they were going to right now, Rin was looking at the same sun- the same horizon; the same sky. And yet, she couldn't help but wonder just how different things looked from his point of view- how ominous it must seem to him compared to what she saw...

"Byakuya."

Haruka's sudden call pulled Byakuya out of her trance, and she shot him a curious look as she glanced at him. His expression was unusually serious, and she tilted her head worriedly.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're here." He responded, earning a surprised look from the Shion, whose dark eyes widened at the sudden acknowledgement.

"What?"

"You're always doing your best to help. Even when you weren't confident in your own self, you always came back- you never abandoned us." Haruka continued, his clear blue eyes brimming with a sincerity that reflected in the words he spoke. "I'm sorry for neglecting to show it, but I'm grateful to have you as my friend."

"...You didn't have to apologize. I should be the one who's sorry for being such a jerk back then." Byakuya replied quietly as she overcame her shock at his sudden confession, a short, sheepish laugh escaping her lips. She then turned her eyes back towards the rest of her sleeping teammates, gentleness overtaking her expression before she looked back at him. "But even so, thank you. I'm just glad to be here with everyone... and I'm happy to know that you think of me as your friend, too."

Haruka nodded as she said that, his eyes shutting in contemplation of her words. The Shion didn't mind as he fell silent again- the fact that he had bothered to speak up and to tell her what he was feeling was a gift of trust in itself, and she was glad to receive it from the boy she had known since childhood. Words were unnecessary with Haruka- he spoke through his actions, and she knew he cared for her just as she did for him, too.

"...That time, at Mutsuki Bridge." Haruka suddenly apoke up again, catching Byakuya's attention as looked back at him in surprise.

"Hm?" Now she was intrigued- Haruka was definitely talking a lot more than she'd expected. This had to be the longest conversation she'd ever had with him, and for once he was the one initiating said conversation. It was quite a surprise to her.

"When I almost drowned." Haruka clarified. While his expression was neutral, his ocean eyes were bright with a meaningful expression.

"What about it?" Byakuya asked carefully, straightening up as she clasped her hands together on top the headrest.

"Makoto always wanted to repay you for that." Haruka continued, his solemn tone implying that he wanted her to take what he was saying seriously. Byakuya's expression quickly turned into one of confusion, and her brow furrowed as she tried to understand what he was getting at.

"Huh?"

"You helped to save my life, and you were there for him, too." Haruka elaborated, diffusing Byakuya's previous confusion before he continued. "He's never forgotten that- not once."

Byakuya felt herself tense as she realized what Haruka was getting at, and she averted her gaze as she chuckled nervously. "T-that can't be right, I didn't do all that much-"

"You did." Haruka cut in solemnly, his tone prompting Byakuya to look back at him. His azure eyes were firm as he held her gaze, making sure his message wouldn't be lost on her. "You're the reason he tries so hard. He wants to be strong enough to protect everyone- to protect you."

Byakuya's clasped hands tightened as she turned her gaze to the ground once more, unable to stand Haruka's piercing gaze any longer. Maybe he was right- maybe Makoto did care for her, but even so... whatever she'd done for Makoto in the past, he had already returned it tenfold. He had patiently put up with all her antics and imperfections, was her shoulder to cry on, and so much more. As it was, she would never be able to repay him for everything he'd done for her- someone like her wasn't even worthy of having him as a friend, let alone something more than that. For her to want more was selfish- that much was a fact.

"...I'm not sure I deserve him, Haru-kun." Byakuya murmured quietly, giving a small, almost embarrassed chuckle as she looked up at the silent, sleeping face of the Tachibana she cared so deeply for.

"Maybe you don't." Haruka responded passively, finally turning his gaze back to the setting sun. Byakuya bit her lip at his response- even if she knew it as well as he did, it still kind of stung to hear it put forth so bluntly. Just as she thought that was the end of it, however, Haruka surprised her once more as he opened his mouth again and added, his voice soft and his expression unusually gentle...

"But he deserves you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ayy, fellas, about the bonus chapter after the ending of this fic... what do ya'll wanna see? Makoto and Byakuya's official first date? A holiday special? An AU? Would ya'll prefer I branch it out into a oneshot collection kind of thing, or would you all just like one single bonus chapter? Lemme know what you think via reviews or PM- whether it's long paragraphs describing what you want to see in extreme detail, or even just one-word prompts, it'll really help to inspire me, guys! So do leave a comment if you can! Please and thank you 8D.<strong>

**Also, as we are all aware, Free has officially ended with the thirteenth episode of ES. Not gonna lie, I cried, though there's nothing new there. I cheered when they announced the new Samezuka captain (Nitori baby I am so proud of you 8'D). I cheered when they swam in the pool of their dreams. I cheered when Haru and Rin stood on that international stage. I CHEERED THE WHOLE WAY OKAI I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS THAT ENDING WAS BEAUTIFUL. So hopeful, so bright... it was perfect. For the future, indeed. **

**It's been a great journey, my beautiful, angsty swimming babies. All those water times were great, and I will never forget them- these summers shall indeed be eternal. KyoAni, you did magnificently with this anime, and Free will always hold a place in my heart. (Also YAY MOMO REMAINS ANGSTLESS TO THE END HELLA)**

**Anyhoo- thanks so much to hatterlymad, April Marciano, StarPup, sugarhigh-ninja3, AmandaVonDoom, Millianna07, Ary Kuchiki, chupamaflabla, silent-raven, phoebus1991, Xxdreamergirl95xX, authorinprogress, fantasticfabrications, Okitacchi44, jainen, littleanjel, Forgetful Insanity, LadyAmazon, surlie, Mazgrl98, savitron9001, INSPIRIT99, Kinako Mochi, MyFriendsAreMyPower, eve-tsuki94, DeidaraDear, and Tari Luinwe for all your support! Hope this chapter was entertaining, and I'll see ya'll next water time!**


	54. Chapter 54

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC. **

A deep sigh of relief and satisfaction escaped Byakuya's lips as she exited the steamy bathroom, a towel bundled on her head to keep most of the water in her damp hair from wetting her shirt. Nothing beat a bath after hours of travelling, she concluded as she sat on the edge of the bed of her hotel room. She, along with the others had arrived at the hotel Kou and Miss Amakata had arranged for them to stay in about half an hour ago, and as the only female swimmer of the swim team, she'd gotten the luxury of having a whole room to herself while the others had to share the two remaining rooms.

Nagisa had complained. Byakuya had gloated.

The girl rolled her neck a couple of times before unravelling the towel around her head, using it to dry her wet mass of dark hair one last time as she tilted her head back. As she did so, a knock on her room door caught her attention, but she didn't bother to halt her actions as she answered with a bland "It's unlocked."

"That's dangerous." Came the response of her guest as Makoto stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him out of habit. His hair was a bit damp as well- he'd probably just come out of the shower, too- and Byakuya just snorted in response to his comment.

"There's no one else in this hotel besides us anyway." She shrugged, standing up as she tossed the towel over a hanger to dry- the hotel didn't even supply chairs in the rooms, that was how low-cost it was.

"True." Makoto chuckled in agreement as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall next to the dresser- the lack of other guests had been apparent from the moment they stepped through the doors of the hotel. It was sort of chilling for the boy, but as long as he had the others around, he figured nothing could go wrong. "Will you be okay all by yourself?"

"It's fine. I'm used to being on my own." Byakuya responded idly, digging around in her toiletry bag as she searched for her hairbrush. The moment she said those words, however, she wanted to slap herself. Way to go and make him feel guilty now, she winced to herself. That was so not the right thing to say.

"You're right- it wasn't." Makoto commented, a teasing smile crossing his face as Byakuya shot him a disbelieving look.

What was he- psychic?

"Maybe." He shrugged, once again responding without her needing to voice her question. In response, Byakuya stuck her tongue out at him before turning her attention back to her bag, finally taking out her hairbrush once she found it.

"Just stick to reading Haru-kun's mind." She grumbled half-heartedly, pushing her hair over her shoulder as she attempted to sort out the tangles. "You don't want to know what else goes on in my head."

"That's true. My sanity could suffer." Makoto replied. Though she wasn't looking at him, Byakuya could practically hear him smiling, and she shot him a mock-glare.

"Tachibana, you're an ass." She deadpanned, pointing her brush at him. "Keep being cheeky, and I'll spank you, young man."

Makoto just laughed again at her threat, though he did halt the comments and winced visibly when he saw Byakuya drag the hairbrush through her locks so roughly he thought her hair would fall out. After a few moments of watching Byakuya attempt to sort out her hair in such an impatient manner, he finally couldn't take it anymore and took the brush from her in one swift move, successfully stopping her from butchering her hair further.

"You'll pull all your hair out before you're 20 if you keep brushing it like that." He reprimanded before she could protest, moving behind her as he gathered her hair with his free hand. "You should be more patient."

"I didn't have this problem when I had short hair." Byakuya grunted, though she felt somewhat sheepish upon feeling Makoto's hands handling her hair far more kindly than hers ever did. Everything he did always exuded gentleness- except maybe when he swam, during which he carved an opening through the water with such strength and ruggedness like a powerful, indomitable force. It was almost strange, somehow- that someone with such an intimidating stature would have such a soft disposition...

"But if you're planning to grow it out, you have to be more gentle." Makoto advised patiently as he brushed out the thick locks, starting from the bottom and slowly working his way upwards as he detangled the mass of hair. "You don't want to damage your hair."

"Where'd you learn to do this, anyway?" Byakuya asked curiously, tilting her head slightly.

"Ran asks me to do her hair sometimes." He chuckled lightly, briefly shooting her a glance in the mirror as he recalled all the hairstyles his sister had forced him to learn. "I can braid fishtails, waterfalls, and even bows if you'd like."

"Seriously?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously." He responded laughingly, before shooting her a playful look. "Want to see?"

"Maybe some other time- when I actually need to look good." Byakuya laughed, her voice laced with mirth. Makoto joined in for a while as he finished sorting out the girl's hair, finally able to pull the brush through without getting it stuck on another clump of tangles. His expression softened a bit as he finished up, and his voice was quiet as he replied...

"You don't need me to do anything, anyway. You look good no matter how you wear your hair."

Whatever response Byakuya had intended to say died in her throat, and she felt that familiar clenching feeling of nervousness in her gut when she heard those words. She knew she shouldn't be shocked- she had a pretty solid suspicion that Makoto's feelings ran deeper than simple friendship, but still...

_'I'm not sure if I deserve him, Haru-kun.'_

Byakuya barely felt it when Makoto placed the brush down on the dresser table before he laid a hand on the small of her back, his thumb tracing light patterns in that spot. Her heart hammered in her chest; despite how simple the action seemed compared to the other moves he had made- the kiss, for example- there was a vulnerability this time on Makoto's part that made this subtle gesture far more intimate.

"Mako?" She asked quietly, unsure of what to make of this sudden display of affection. Glancing up at the mirror, she could see a distant expression in his eyes as he looked down at her, as if there was something weighing on his mind. It troubled her greatly, but before he could respond...

"Hey, Bya-kun!" Nagisa's cheerful voice rang out as he barged in through the door, his blonde curls flatter than usual due to the droplets of water hanging from the ends of his hair. He paused slightly when he noticed Makoto in the room with the girl, but whatever suspicion he might have had was quickly overridden by the look of anxiousness that crossed his face. "Can I use your bathroom for a bit? Rei-chan and Haru-chan are in the other ones."

"Oh. Uh, sure." Byakuya stuttered, coughing into her fist as she attempted to remain casual. Inwardly, however, she nearly cursed Nagisa for his bad timing- talk about a total moodkill. Makoto hardly ever spoke his mind, and now it might take forever before she got him willing enough to spill...

"Thanks!" The blonde nodded gratefully before he dashed into the toilet, almost slamming the door behind him in his eagerness- clearly, he was pretty desperate. The moment she was sure that Nagisa was out of sight, Byakuya turned around to face Makoto fully, a concerned furrow in her brow as she observed his closed off expression.

"Makoto," She reiterated, this time using his full name to make sure the concern in her tone got across. "Is everything okay?"

For a few long, tense seconds of silence, Makoto didn't respond, though his veridian eyes met her chocolate ones without glancing away even once. Despite how boldly he held her gaze, however, there was something hesitant just below the surface- something that reminded her all too much of the day he had broken down all those years ago after the incident at Mutsuki Bridge.

"I really am a coward..." He muttered to himself, lowering his head such that she couldn't see his expression anymore. His sudden, self-deprecating remark startled Byakuya, and her worry only increased further.

"What?"

"Just... wait for me, Byaku-chan." Makoto said, almost pleadingly as he looked up once again, placing his hands on her shoulders. The look in his eyes was unreadable- a whirl of emotions lingered just beneath the surface, but as usual, he didn't let them spill over. "Please, give me a bit more time."

And then he turned on his heel and walked out of the room, clearly in a hurry as he shut the door behind him. And if it wasn't her imagination, she was pretty sure she heard a light 'thunk' sound coming from outside the door- as if someone was hitting their head on the wall opposite her room. Without noticing it, Byakuya emitted a deep sigh of... regret? Disappointment? Even she didn't know anymore. Her hands moved unconsciously towards the small bag where she kept her swimming accessories at the corner of the dressing table, taking out the numerous Omamori charms which she kept in there- all of which were hanging on a key ring.

"Waiting, huh..." Byakuya muttered to herself, turning over one particular charm in her hand- the one in deep green. Waiting... for what? For them to fix things with Rin? For one of them to finally gather the wits to admit their feelings? For this whole crush to blow over for fear of jeopardizing their friendship? Just what did he mean?

"Why is everything so complicated?!" Byakuya growled to herself as she slapped her palms to her face, falling back onto her bed as she exhaled shortly in disdain. What was wrong with her? Being so conflicted over something that should have been simple...

Growing up sucked.

As Byakuya lay on her bed and tuned out the world to wallow in her thoughts, she failed to notice Nagisa opening the bathroom door slowly, making as little noise as possible. There was a thoughtful gleam in his magenta irises- his nosey nature had urged him to listen in on the conversation between his two buddies, and he'd heard everything right down to Byakuya's despairing comments. The boy put a hand to his chin as he pondered this latest development- Makoto was too timid to make the last move, and Byakuya was slowly growing more insecure because of it. Leading her on with such words wasn't doing much in Makoto's favour either, and if things went on like this...

Then it looked like it would be time to stage another intervention.

* * *

><p>Later that same night, the five teens of the Iwatobi Swim Club found themselves at a restaurant not too far from their hotel- as per the recommendation of their team captain. After a mild debate on what they should have for dinner the night before their big day, it was decided that they would settle for something a little more traditional...<p>

"Pork cutlet bowl!" Nagisa enthused happily, a grin lighting up his face as he eagerly glanced through the menu in his hands.

"That's a lot of meat." Byakuya mused as she turned another page of the menu, raising an eyebrow at the olive-haired captain sitting to her right. "Didn't Kotetsu-obasan say that you needed to start eating your greens more, though?"

"Um..." Makoto trailed off, scratching his cheek nervously. Nagisa, on the other hand chose that moment to butt in, and he just shook his head disdainfully.

"Since when are you such a nag, Bya-kun?" He grumbled, earning a pinch on the cheek from Byakuya as she simply reached to her left to do so, not even looking up from the menu.

"Don't be cheeky, young man." She tutted disapprovingly, loosening her grip on the blonde's cheek as he yanked her hand off and pouted at her. This was once again ignored, however, and Byakuya simply turned back to continue her conversation with Makoto. "And don't worry, Mako. The secret of your rebellious nature is safe with me."

"Rebellious nature?" Makoto repeated, his eyebrows raised. Even Haruka shot her a deadpan look at the horrendously misplaced adjective.

"That and 'Makoto-senpai' don't belong in the same sentence..." Rei contemplated thoughtfully.

"Oh, hush. Are gou guys ready to order or what?" Byakuya huffed. It sucked when they all tried to gang up on her. She then raised her voice a little, announcing her order to the man across the counter at which they sat. "One Oyakodon, please!"

"One Oyakodon, coming up." The man called back, announcing that her order had been heard.

"I think I'll go with tenderloin cutlets." Makoto concluded as well, earning an approving nod from Nagisa.

"Me too!" The blonde raised his hand eagerly, announcing their orders. "Two tenderloin cutlets!"

"Got it, two tenderloin cutlets."

"Miso mackerel meal." Haruka added monotonously, the man taking the orders repeating his order to the kitchen staff as well. His addition prompted a round of chuckles amongst his friends, who all shook their head knowingly.

"Saw that one coming!" Nagisa jested, and Haruka simply looked away as if nothing weird had transpired. As for Rei...

"I'm thinking the hot pot or the pork cutlet bowl with ankake sauce." He mused aloud, torn between the various foods the restaurant offered- he had a fondness for these traditional dishes. "Hm, or maybe the chilled cutlet udon..."

"One hot pot, one ankake, one chilled cutlet udon..." Came the voice of the waiter as he passed the order onto the kitchen staff once more, much to Rei's chagrin- and his friends' amusement.

"What?!" The bluenette squeaked, quickly trying to clear up the misunderstanding. His so-called 'buddies' weren't much help- they were all too busy trying to choke down the laughing fit that threatened to burst from their lips at his misfortune. Heck, even Haruka was turning his head away as his hand clamped over his mouth, smothering his amused chuckles."U-uhm, you've got it wrong! I wasn't placing an order!

"Sorry kid, no refunds." The waiter apologized frankly, though he didn't sound too sorry about it. Nagisa's head was on the table at this point as he pounded the surface of said table as a less obnoxious output for his overflowing amusement.

"W-what?" Rei blanched, horrified at what this meant. How could he possibly finish so much food?!

"Don't worry, Rei-chan." Nagisa managed to choke out once he'd managed to scrounge together enough control not to burst into hysterical laughter. "Maybe the portions here are small!"

Just then, an order came out from the kitchen and was taken to another table nearby. And- for lack of a better word- the serving size was _enormous_. The Iwatobi bunch could only stare at the order as the waiter passed by them, all of them falling into stunned silence at the sheer amount of food in that one bowl.

"...You were saying?" Rei deadpanned once he found his voice, turning to Nagisa with a twitching eyebrow. The blonde simply scratched his head sheepishly and offered a nervous smile in response, but before he could utter a single word, the girl next to him suddenly exploded into a fit of giggles, finally unable to hold it back. Tears sprang to Byakuya's eyes as she clutched her stomach, her sides beginning to ache with the force of her laughter. Such a reaction quickly passed on to Makoto, which spurred Haruka's own silent laughter, which soon led Nagisa bursting into loud, bubbly chuckles as well. Not even Rei was spared from the laughing fit this time- though it was at his expense, the sound of his deep laugh soon joined in with the others', echoing like a joyful, spontaneous harmony within the tiny confines of the restaurant.

Though such behaviour may have need considered out of hand and perhaps even rude, none of the five friends bothered about what they looked like to other people. They were happy to be with each other- among the friends they cherished most in the world.

And that was all that mattered.

* * *

><p>"Ah, that was good!" Nagisa sighed happily as he and the other made their way back to the hotel, patting his stomach happily as he did so. He'd definitely had a good dinner- mostly thanks to a particular bluenette who had over-ordered, thus providing him with more food without him having to pay. Yeah, he was pretty satisfied with his end of the bargain.<p>

"I had too much to eat..." Rei lamented, feeling full in the stomach but noticeably more empty in the wallet. Granted, the food had been good- just not necessarily so for his income.

"If not for Nagi-kun, we'd never have made it out of there alive." Byakuya commented off-handedly, sparing a glance out of the corner of her eye at the cheerful blonde, who was walking with his hands behind his head as of he hadn't just eaten enough to feed a small village in China.

"Where _does_ all that food go...?" Makoto mused thoughtfully. He doubted that all the science in the world would ever be able to solve the mystery that was Nagisa Hazuki's metabolism...

"Man, practice was crazy today!"

"It was brutal!"

The sudden comments coming from another group of teenagers on the other side of the street caught the Iwatobi group's attention, and they all curiously glanced at the bunch of teens walking by. They were all clad in school uniforms- probably belonging to some high school around the area, given how old they seemed to be...

"Hey, are those guys going to be in the tournament tomorrow?" Nagisa guessed optimistically, nearly bouncing on his feet in excitement as he watched them go by. "What if they end up in the lane next to us?"

"They're probably students from a local high school." Rei corrected, pointing out the facts. "After all, they're not built like swimmers."

"You sound like Gou-chan!" Nagisa retorted, earning a few splutters from Rei. Before the banter could continue, however...

"Right!" Makoto suddenly piped up, his eager voice gaining everyone's attention immediately. His face was lit up with eager anticipation as he continued, "Let's check out the pool!"

The others all seemed to brighten at that- the idea evidently enticed them. Surely, it wouldn't hurt to get a look at where they would be swimming the next day, right? And besides, what harm could it do to be a little more familiar with their surroundings?

"Sounds like a plan!" Byakuya nodded with a grin. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

><p>She really needed to stop jinxing everybody. That was the only thing that came to Byakuya's mind as she stared at the 'no entry' sign hanging on the chain that sealed them off from the entrance to the stadium.<p>

"No luck." Nagisa lamented, frowning at the closed off stadium. So close, and yet so far...

"I guess it's too late." Makoto sighed, somewhat dejectedly. He'd been looking forward to it, too...

"This isn't going to happen, then." Byakuya frowned. "Unless we go for breaking and entering."

"_You_ might be alright with obtaining a criminal record, senpai, but the rest of us are less inclined to do so." Rei commented bluntly. Byakuya's brow twitched at that, but before another conflict could break out, Haruka's smooth, calm voice caught their attention once more.

"Wait," Though he was addressing his friends, he was looking at something in the distance- a cliffside viewpoint not too far from where they were. He nodded a little to himself as he turned back to his friends, glad that he had noticed this detail- he hated to see them disappointed at such a small thing, after all.

"We might still be able to see the pool."

* * *

><p>"Hurry up, guys!" Nagisa hollered enthusiastically as he reached the top of the flight of stairs leading to the viewpoint before any of the others, running around with his hands spread wode as he did so. He had far too much energy, Rei mused as he struggled to catch up to the blonde- for some reason, he had been unofficially been dubbed as the babysitter for his energetic classmate, and had to do his best to keep up with the blonde.<p>

"It's not safe to run in the dark!" He huffed reprimandingly, though that did little to deter Nagisa, who still ran on ahead anyway. In the meantime, the other three teens were still a ways down on the staircase- Makoto was panting a little as he planted his hands on his knees, struggling to keep up with the others due to his lower stamina. Haruka- the loyal friend that he was- had stopped his advancement up the stairs to wait up for him as well, patiently allowing his best friend some time to catch his breath. As for Byakuya...

"You okay?" The girl asked as she hopped onto the step just above the one Makoto was standing on, bending down to get a look at his face. He simply shot her a wry smile, his breathing still heavy as he tried to his get his heartbeat to slow down. It didn't particularly help that she was so close, though...

"Since when did you get more stamina than me?" He joked weakly, earning a knowing smile from the girl before him- he really should consider joining her for her early morning runs if it would help build up his physical capacities.

"Do you need me to carry you this time?" Byakuya asked cheerily, earning a tired laugh from Makoto.

"My weight would crush you." He replied simply, as if stating an obvious fact- which it was. Byakuya's smile softened at that, and she straightened up as she offered him her outstretched hand, not retracting it even when Makoto shot her a curious look.

"Come on. Haru-kun and the others are waiting."

Makoto's eyes widened slightly in surprise at her familiar words, and for a moment, it was as if they were both twelve years old again, with her smiling brightly as she reached out to him. Though the image faded just as quickly as it came, he couldn't help but smile as he met Byakuya's eye again- she was so different from what she looked like back then, and yet still the same. He supposed the same could be said for him and Haru, as well- he could see the raven-haired boy standing several steps above where they stood, waiting for them to catch up and encouraging them silently, as he always did.

And Makoto would never fall behind. Not as long as he had these two waiting for him, always.

"Okay." He nodded, grasping Byakuya's hand firmly with his own. And for the first time in years, Makoto found himself being the one who was guided, instead of the other way around.

As the trio caught up with the other two younger members of the swim team- Byakuya released Makoto's hand once they reached the top, much to the latter's disappointment- they were somewhat surprised to see that the two had stopped playing around and were instead standing near the fence that surrounded the edge of the cliff they stood on. When they walked up to then and saw what Rei and Nagisa were looking at, however, they could see just why it was so...

"Wow..." Nagisa breathed, evidently in awe at the sight before him. The roof of the stadium was wide open, allowing them a perfect view of the pool that lay inside. The lights of the stadium were still on it would seem, and it gave the pool an almost ethereal, aquamarine glow from their vantage point.

"It's big." Makoto commented, unable to find a proper way to voice his thoughts. He'd never expected it to look this magnificent- it had far exceeded his expectations.

"Big? It's enormous!" Byakuya corrected, though her voice clearly indicated her own fascination with the sight before them.

"We'll be swimming in that tomorrow..." Rei wore a small smile as he contemplated the thought, feeling a rush of excitement at the mere thought- what an honour it would be...

"Yeah." Makoto nodded, a soft smile gracing his lips as well. They all heard the unspoken message behind Rei's words, and it only served to build up their eagerness for the race that was to come.

"I'm getting excited!"

"Yep!"

Amidst all his teammates' exclamations, Haruka glanced over quietly at the girl next to him, gauging her reaction. Byakuya was silent as her wide eyes remained fixated on the huge, Olympic-sized pool, and he quietly murmured to her under his breath.

"Nervous?" He asked, waiting to see how she would respond.

"Actually... I can't wait."

That certainly wasn't an answer he had been expecting. She sounded so positive- as if she was absolutely sure of what she was saying and what the outcome of tomorrow would be. A closer observation on Haruka's part revealed to him that a smile was tugging at Byakuya's lips- a smile that reminded him an awful lot of those upbeat, confident ones that she used to wear so prominently when they were younger.

Turning his head away, Haruka allowed a smile of his own to pull at the corners of his lips. This was a change in her that had slowly been growing in her ever since the reunion with Rin, but only now could he see it clearly. What had started out as a slow shedding of her laid back, uncaring mindset had developed into a maturation on her personality... and this time, he could safely say that he didn't mind the change at all.

After all, she had finally found her way back to the person she once was, and more.

'_Welcome back, Byakuya_.'

* * *

><p>In the arts and crafts room of Iwatobi High School, two girls were still experimenting with the various paints and markers scattered throughout the room despite the late hour. However, their shenanigans were not out of pure idleness- no, these two girls were working together with a goal in mind...<p>

"It's finally done!" Kou announced victoriously, raising the new banner she had just painted with a flourish as she showed it off to her friend, Hanamura. "What do you think?"

"So close..." Chigusa critiqued, observing the banner with a critical eye. Though the calligraphy that emblazoned the banner with the words of encouragement for the swim team was spot on, there was something... mildly disturbing about the picture of the school mascot that Kou had drawn. "If not for the drawing..."

"Quiet, you!" The redhead snapped irritably, not wanting to hear the rest. Geez, why did their school mascot have to be a rockhopper penguin? Couldn't they have gotten an eagle or a bulldog or anything that was easier to draw?

"Girls?" The demure voice of Miss Amakata called out from the doorway, and both girls turned to see the Classic Literature teacher peeking her head into the art room. "You should be headed home. We'll be leaving early tomorrow." She advised, earning a quick nod from Kou.

"Yes, we're almost done." Kou assured- she supposed she had to fix up that picture of Iwatobi-chan, somehow...

The sound of her phone vibrating on the table on which she had laid it down on diverted her attention for a moment, however, and she carefully laid down her banner before picking up the slim, pink device. Flipping it open, she expected to see another regular text... only for her eyes to widen when she registered who it was from.

"...Onii-chan?"

**-x-x-x-**

**Sender: Onii-chan**

**Recipient: Kou Matsuoka**

**'I need to ask you something.'**

**-x-x-x-**

* * *

><p>Later that night, a fitful Rei Ryugazaki lay wide awake in his bed, trying his best to sleep despite the circumstances. He was just too anxious about tomorrow- he couldn't get any sleep if he couldn't calm his nerves, and the last thing he wanted to do was stay awake all night like he had the day before prefecturals again...<p>

"Hey, Rei-chan." Nagisa's sleepy drawl called out, prompting Rei to turn towards his blonde friend sleeping on the bed next to his.

"What is it?" He inquired curiously. It looked like he wasn't the only one not getting any sleep...

"You shouldn't eat that squid..."

Or maybe he was.

"He's talking in his sleep?!" Rei hissed to himself as he shot up in his bed, scowling irritably at the prospect. Indeed, Nagisa was fast asleep in his bed- even snoring a little- as he murmured senseless ramblings in his exhausted state. Before Rei could fume over this a bit longer, however, his phone suddenly lit up- he had silenced it- with the arrival of a new message. Intrigued as to who could possibly want to text him this late at night, the boy reached out and opened his cell, squinting a bit as he tried to read the message without his glasses. It was from an unknown sender, but the contents...

Rei's eyes widened as he read the very first sentence. It was a curt and short introduction of the message's sender, summarized in three simple words...

'**It's Rin Matsuoka**.**'**

* * *

><p>Rei wasn't the only one suffering from inability to sleep. In the room right next to his and Nagisa's, Haruka and Makoto were encountering the very same insomniac-centred problem. It was official, then- nine o'clock was not a time when any teenager could sleep, no matter what major event was going on. Makoto sighed internally at the dilemma as he opened his eyes, unable to coax himself into slumber despite all his efforts. Talk about a case of nerves...<p>

"Hey, Haru." He called out quietly, waiting to see if his friend in the next bed would respond. "Are you asleep?"

A moment of silence. And then, Haruka- who had his back turned towards Makoto- replied, "No, I'm awake."

Makoto gave a small, half-hearted laugh at that. Well, if they both couldn't sleep, might as well try to pass the time. "Can't fall asleep, huh?"

"Yeah." Haruka murmured his own eyes half-open at this point.

"...I hope we make it to the final tomorrow." Makoto commented thoughtfully, his eyes taking on a hopeful gleam as he stared up at the ceiling. What a joy it would be to be able to make it to the finals with his friends- to be closer to that dream he longed to attain...

"Yeah..." Haruka repeated once more. He really didn't know what else to say- but then again, Makoto always knew how to carry a conversation with him, even when he didn't say much.

There was no one else in the world who understood him as much as his best friend did, after all. And he needed to make sure Makoto knew that.

"Makoto." Haruka suddenly called out, making up his mind. He didn't turn around to face Makoto as the boy glanced at him curiously, but he continued without stopping, anyways. "I appreciate you being here for me...thanks."

Just a few simple words. Hardly an impressive sentence. And yet, coming from Haruka- who rarely ever spoke aloud- those few words were worth more than any lengthy declaration or speech. They were enough to shock Makoto into shooting up in his bed, unable to stop his mouth from falling open as he gaped at his best friend.

"Haru?!" He exclaimed, as if he wasn't sure if he had heard right. Haruka however didn't respond- instead he just calmly got out of his bed and pulled on his shoes, getting up as he prepared to head out the door.

"I'm going out for a quick run." He announced all of a sudden, not waiting for a response as he calmly walked off. It wasn't simply because he was somewhat awkward with such heartfelt conversations- he also had to clear his head for a bit; maybe tire himself out enough to sleep properly before the big day tomorrow.

Besides, he'd said what he had to say. That was enough.

"Wait, now?!" Makoto sputtered in disbelief, though by the time he had done so, Haruka was already out the door. For a few moments, all the boy could do was stare after his friend in a daze, feeling a bout of whiplash from how fast the scenario had changed. But then, slowly, his face broke out into a grin, and he started chuckling to himself as happiness and warmth flooded his heart. Typical, typical Haruka...

He really did know his best friend well.

* * *

><p>Ceilings were very interesting. Very, very interesting. Especially when one has been staring at them for the past hour trying to fall asleep with very little success.<p>

At least, that was what Byakuya kept telling herself as she lay on her bed. After spending half an hour tossing and turning in her bed, shoving her head into her pillow, shoving her head _under_ the pillow, lying in every position possible, and even testing out the floor once, she had just given up altogether as she let her arms dangle off the sides of the bed, lamenting her inability to sleep. She was currently counting up to her three-hundred and seventy-fourth sheep and, finally concluding that this was getting her nowhere, she rolled onto her back again as she buried her face in her pillow to groan loudly.

"I can't do this." She whined to herself, her hands pulling at her hair. Every time she thought she was making progress with falling into slumber, images of a redheaded, pointy-toothed boy would suddenly decided to pop up just at that moment, accompanied by a flurry of memories that she normally would have preferred to entertain when she wasn't trying to get some rest.

Why, she lamented with another deep sigh- why was her brain such a jerk?

Grumbling under her breath, Byakuya shot to her feet and jumped out of bed, making up her mind. Grabbing the keys to her room off the table, she shoved them into her pocket and impatiently pushed her hair over her shoulders, not caring much for her appearance. She didn't know what she was doing, or where she was going, but anything was better than lying in her bed and counting the cracks in her ceiling.

The moment she flung open the door after pulling on her shoes, the door to the room opposite hers was opened as well, making her halt her steps in surprise. Cerulean eyes shot up to meet hers, and Byakuya tilted her head curiously as she identified who it was.

"Haru-kun." She noted with confusion. "Where are you going?"

"Out for a run." He replied simply, not offering any further explanation. There was no need to- he had developed the habit of going out for a jog every time he needed to clear his head since his younger days, and Byakuya knew as much.

"Huh." She shoved her hands into her pants pockets- though she was curious as to what had gotten him so riled up all of a sudden, she decided to leave him to it. "Don't be out too late. You need to rest."

"Look who's talking." He raised an eyebrow, turning away as he made his way down the hallway towards the elevator.

"Don't sass me. I get enough of that from your best friend." She called back blandly, a small frown on her face at his snarky remark.

"That's not all you get from him." Haruka muttered, his tone unchanging as he pressed the 'down' button.

"What was that?" Byakuya growled, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she shot Haruka a poisonous glare. If he noticed it, he definitely didn't show it as he simply stepped through the open elevator doors, not bothering to offer a response. Byakuya considered rushing in and stopping the elevator doors from closing just to bug the silent teen, but instead relented as she scuffed her foot on the floor of the hallway, mumbling curses under her breath. She'd let him go this time...

"Stupid, mackerel-obsessed, stuck up a-IIEEEE!"

Her long string of colourful insults was cut short by her shrill scream when the door to Haruka's room was suddenly flung open again, catching her off-guard as she jumped and practically glued herself to her room door in fear.

What she didn't expect, however, was for her own scream to be met with another one of its kind- only far less feminine sounding than hers, and which came from a six-foot, olive-haired giant that was suddenly hiding behind the half-opened door of Haruka's room.

"M-Mako?!" Byakuya stuttered out, lowering her raised fists out of the defensive stance she had instinctively acquired as she detached herself from the wall. She silently berated herself for her absent-mindedness- Haruka was sharing a room with Makoto, how could she forget?

"Byaku-chan?!" Makoto returned, just as surprised as she was. The two of them let out a simultaneous sigh of relief as they realized what had just happened, before embarrassment overrode the feeling of ease once again.

"You gave me a scare, there." Byakuya coughed, scratching her nose and trying to make it seem like she hadn't just screamed like a five-year old just because Makoto had spooked her involuntarily. She had an image to uphold, after all.

"What are you doing out in the hallway?" Makoto asked once he'd regained his composure, moving out from behind the door and out into the hallway as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I was going to check in on you." Makoto replied easily, though a faint blush graced his features as he scratched his head awkwardly. "You normally don't fall asleep so early."

"True." Byakuya agreed, not denying the truth behind his statement.

"Your turn now. Where were you going?" Makoto poked further, instilling a sense of sheepishness within Byakuya.

"I think I was going to go for a walk." She chuckled nervously. That wasn't a lie- she had definitely considered it, but after Haru had gotten into that elevator, she had decided to spare him the awkwardness of sharing the lift with him. Glancing back at her friend, Byakuya shot him a sly grin. "But since you're still awake, I could always bug you now."

"You're always welcome to." Makoto replied smilingly, not minding the least. He then opened the door to his room wider, stepping aside to make space for her to pass through. "Do you want to come inside?"

"Don't you need to try and get some sleep?" Byakuya asked carefully.

"Well..." Makoto pondered that for a while. He had two options- either he could continue struggling to fall asleep, or he could stay awake a bit longer to chat with the girl he had harboured a crush on for months now.

Needless to say, the choice was obvious.

"You could just hang around for a little while." He shrugged, trying not to seem too eager at the prospect of finally being able to spend some alone time with Byakuya.

"If you say so." Byakuya complied easily, not minding the change of plans at all as she walked past Makoto and into the room. "Feel free to chase me out when you start to feel sleepy."

"Of course." He chuckled, shutting the door once she had entered. Byakuya casually glanced over the layout of the room- it was fairly simple, much like her own. Two seperate beds were lined up against one wall, and a dressing table sat opposite said wall. And as usual...

"They could at least provide a stool." Byakuya groused, automatically lifting her hand to her forehead in annoyance. Makoto didn't even make a sound as he simply grabbed her wrist again, speaking casually as he replied to her comment.

"Well, this is a budget hotel." He continued, pretending not to see the annoyed pout she shot him. Instead, he lowered her hand and tugged lightly on it, gesturing to his bed instead. "Come on- you can sit here."

"I wasn't going to rub my forehead, you know." Byakuya grumbled in response, though she complied to sit on his bed without much argument. She then pulled off her shoes and left them at the foot of the bed before drawing her knees up to her chest, hugging them close.

"You can't be too safe." Makoto joked, crossing his bare feet on the mattress as he sat next to Byakuya. The two of them remained silent for a few seconds as they just leaned back against the wall next to his bed in the corner, falling into a comfortability that had been acquired from their long years of acquaintance. Slowly, he turned to look at her, his verdant eyes soft. "So, how are you feeling about tomorrow?"

"Jittery. Tense. Like I'm going to throw up. That last part was a joke." Byakuya added quickly when she noted the vague look of concern that flickered across Makoto's face. "How about you?"

"Well, we've been training hard." Makoto replied easily. "I'm definitely hoping we'll make it."

Byakuya hummed thoughtfully as she thought over his words, before raising an eyebrow at him. "And what's got you so nervous you're willing to put up with me when you should be asleep?" She asked, her tone matter-of-fact. Makoto started at the sudden- correct- observation, and flushed slightly in unease.

"Is it that obvious?" He murmured, somewhat sheepish as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Byakuya just smirked at him again, only this time it was less teasing and more gentle. It intrigued Makoto how she seemed to express so much with just a small rise or dip at the corners of her mouth- he could read each message she intended to convey with them so easily, almost as well as he could read Haruka's emotions. He couldn't help but blush a little more deeply as he remembered the night after the festival- the way those exact lips had curved perfectly over his own...

"You're that dork I bowled over when I was five. Of course I'd be able to read you at least a little bit." She sighed lightheartedly, her voice snapping him out of his brief lapse in attention. However, her expression became a little more serious when she tilted her head at him, shifting her body more so that she was facing him. "What is it that's bothering you?"

For a moment, Makoto considered bluffing and reassuring her that he was fine. That was what he had insisted all this while, after all- he was convinced that everything would turn out fine. After all, what was the worst thing that could happen? But something in those familiar, chocolate eyes seemed to burn into his conscience, imploring him to tell her the truth behind what he was feeling.

At the back of his mind, Makoto couldn't help but realize just how much Byakuya resembled her mother in that aspect. His mouth began moving before he even noticed it.

"I'm worried." He confessed quietly, the words nearly spilling out as he finally admitted the small sliver of doubt he felt. "Not just because of Rin, but also because of the relay. I'm the one who's going to swim first- I'll be the best chance the team has at getting a good a head start. I don't want to slow everyone down- if I don't swim well enough..."

"You'll do great." Byakuya assured with confidence when he trailed off. "And besides, you have the others to back you up too, so you don't have to worry about it. It's okay to be nervous-"

"No, it's not." He insisted as he glanced back at her. Though his expression was firm, it was underlined with something else- something Byakuya now recognized as fear.

"What do you mean?" She asked quietly, urging him to continue when she saw him hesitate.

"...I'm the captain of the team. I'm the one everyone looks to for support- that's my duty." Makoto's voice had become gradually softer as he spoke, and soon it was barely above a whisper as he lowered his head. "Isn't it wrong to feel unsure? Wouldn't that affect everyone else? Shouldn't I... shouldn't I be stronger?"

His last sentence hung in the air like a stagnant weight, making the atmosphere of the room a lot less comfortable and warm than it previously was. He couldn't bring himself to look Byakuya in the eye- he had finally admitted it. The captain of the Iwatobi team had finally confessed his doubts about his own capabilities. For such a sturdy-looking, immensely built teen, Makoto was exactly that- a teenager. He may have looked and acted beyond his age, with a gentleness and care that contrasted hugely with his colossal stature, but in the end... he was still a boy who had yet to reach the height of maturity. He still wondered and feared for events that had yet to come, no matter how positive and optimistic his beliefs were. He took comfort in the thanks and appreciation from his friends and family- be they through word or by action- contenting himself with what he had.

But being content wasn't always enough. Sometimes, he wanted more. Sometimes, he would sigh to himself and wish he wasn't always taken for granted.

Sometimes, he got jealous. Jealous that other people received more than he did when they did so much less- all because they didn't mind voicing their worries and thoughts... not like he did. He kept silent and wore that soft smile on his face, always encouraging others and putting himself second. And it was because of his selflessness that he never allowed himself to do what others did- that he chose to remain content without demanding more; that he never voiced his own needs. But he knew, no matter how he tried to deny it, that he was selfish, if only just a little bit. And it hurt that he couldn't change that weakness. It hurt that he couldn't bring himself to admit his insecurities.

It hurt that he wasn't the strong, perfect person he wanted to be.

The silence continued to drag on between Makoto and Byakuya, and with each passing second, Makoto felt his heart growing heavier. Stupid, he cursed himself, his fisted hands tightening on his lap- what was he thinking, telling her that? He wasn't supposed to say that to anyone- to worry them with his burdens. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

And then he felt a hand land on his cheek, the force of the impact light but still hard enough to warrant his attention. His eyes widened in shock as he turned towards the person who had been the one to slap him, whose brown eyes were kind despite the otherwise passive look on her face.

"Idiot." Byakuya muttered. Her hand never left his face as she spoke, but her touch was noticeably more tender than before. "Is that honestly what you've been thinking all this while?"

"I..." Makoto found himself unable to form a coherent sentence- his voice seemed stuck in his throat. All he could see was the benevolent, understanding expression Byakuya wore- not one of pity, but rather... it was one of acceptance.

"There's nothing wrong with trying to be strong. But you're not perfect, Mako- and you can't be." She stated quietly, though she made sure her point got across. Before Makoto could feel the disappointment that came with that statement, a gentle smile crossed her face as she finished, "But if you ask me... that only makes you all the more wonderful."

It was short and unremarkable- not a long, soulful speech that expressed sympathy and understanding. She was to the point and precise, not beating around the bush with her blunt yet sincere comfort. But that was all Makoto needed and a feeling of immense calm overtook him, as if the weight of the world had suddenly been lifted off his shoulders, if only for a moment. Overwhelmed by the sudden flood of emotions, he felt his heart thump painfully in his chest as he stared at Byakuya's kind face.

He couldn't take this anymore.

Makoto barely noticed it when his arms went around Byakuya, pulling her close to him as she gave a small squeak of surprise. The logical part of his mind yelled at him to pull back- that now wasn't the right time. But the rest of his mind just didn't care- he had held back long enough- and that part of his brain won the battle as he leaned forth to cover her lips with his own. The kiss was clumsy and inexperienced- much like their first one- but Makoto didn't care.

He had fallen. And he had fallen hard.

"Thank you." Makoto's voice was soft- almost shaky- as he broke the embrace to catch his breath, though he was unable to bring himself to look her in the eye after such an unplanned move. In that moment, Byakuya realized- he wasn't simply the boy that supported everyone with a smile. He was also the Makoto whose hand she had held all those years ago when she assured him that she would never let him fight his battles alone- the boy that had his faults and vulnerabilities, which he never showed because he didn't want anyone to worry about him.

"You're an idiot." Byakuya muttered as she reached up to lay one hand on his head, his olive-green locks soft beneath her touch. Instinctively, she began stroking his head comfortingly- something she had not done in years- as she lay her head against his shoulder in an attempt to hide her flushed face. "A complete and utter idiot."

Despite the coarseness of her words, Makoto found himself giving a breathless chuckle. Her manner of speech was always so nonchalant, as if she always said whatever just happened to come to mind no matter how callous it came off as. But he knew better- she never directly said what she really thought; the true meaning and intent behind her words were always hidden in between the lines. To anyone else, her calling him a fool would simply have been a jest or a shy retort, but to Makoto... it was just as good as any confession of worry and affection- better, even.

"For someone who speaks so openly, there's still a lot you don't say." He commented quietly, feeling more at ease than he had in a long time.

"Think of it as good practice for your mind reading skills." She retorted, joining him in quiet laughter as the atmosphere of the room returned back to normal. Light and easy... it was just like how things always were for them- only this time, there was something vastly different regarding their feelings for each other.

As the two of them allowed themselves to settle down once more and slowly- but reluctantly- pulled away from their intimate embrace, Makoto risked a shy glance at her and asked softly, "Do you want to sleep here tonight?"

"You need to sleep properly." Byakuya shook her head as she glanced down at the bed they sat on- clearly, it had been made for one person only. And personally, she was beginning to feel a bit more awkward than usual, given that Makoto might as well have plastered a huge sign with flashing neon lights on his head that spelled out 'I like you' with that kiss earlier. She had to admit- she felt pretty dense for not noticing it before this. "Squeezing in such a tiny bed won't do either of us any good."

"We'll manage." Makoto assured, looping an arm around Byakuya's waist as he did so. Before she could protest, he was already lying down on his pillow and pulling her back against his chest. "We'll save space this way." Makoto justified, though he averted his gaze to hide the flush on his face as he reached out to pull the coverlet over the two of them. Embarrassed though he was, there was no way he was passing up such an opportunity. He was still a boy, after all.

"You're such a flirt, Tachibana." Byakuya sighed, her face reddening- she was glad she was facing the other way so that he couldn't see her blush. However, she didn't try to pull away- take advantage what she had and all that, right? "Don't blame me if I push you off in the morning, though."

"It would be worth it." Makoto replied honestly, feeling his heart race at having her so close. Not removing his hand around her waist, he glanced down at the girl in his arms, reciting the same wish they had used for as long as he could remember. "Good night, Byakuya."

"Good night, Makoto." Byakuya returned softly, her voice indicating that she was beginning to drift off already. Makoto, however, didn't fall asleep quite as quickly- instead, he gazed silently down at her for a moment longer, a wistful smile lingering on his lips, which still tingled from that earlier kiss. The steady beat of Byakuya's heart- which he could feel thrumming against his own chest- lulled him into a sense of peace, and Makoto felt as if he never wanted to move from this position. It just felt... right, somehow.

If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.

"...Mako, I can feel you staring." Byakuya suddenly commented blandly, making Makoto chuckle sheepishly. It looked like he'd been caught- her eyes weren't open, but she always did have sharp instincts.

It was just another thing about her that made her the person he loved.

* * *

><p>In an empty playground, lit only by the streetlamps in the darkness of nightfall, an unlikely duo sat on the swingset as they conversed. Nagisa Hazuki and Haruka Nanase had both run into each other on the street near the restaurant they'd been eating at earlier, having left their rooms to roam around- though both for different reasons. Hence explaining the situation they found themselves in now.<p>

"What are you doing out here?" Haruka asked, evidently curious. He had simply gone out for a walk to clear his head, but when he'd spotted Nagisa waving at him on the corner of the street, he'd been utterly perplexed. Last he checked, Nagisa had the uncanny ability to fall asleep virtually anywhere, so he doubted that insomnia was the boy's reason for being out and about.

"Rei-chan was gone when I woke up, so I went looking for him." Nagisa answered easily, shooting Haruka an inquisitive look of his own. "What about you, Haru-chan?"

"I'm..." Hm, he wasn't quite sure how to answer that..

"Too nervous to sleep, right?" Nagisa guessed, grinning at Haruka as he trailed off. However, Haruka shook his head- that wasn't quite it.

"Not exactly..." He murmured, unable to properly voice his reasoning. He really needed to work on his socializing skills- all those years of reliance upon Makoto to speak in his place had greatly dampened his ability to convey his thoughts verbally. However, Nagisa didn't seem to mind- instead, he wore a wry smile om his face as he looked at the ground, his hands tightening on the chains of the swing he sat on.

"I'm pretty nervous myself." He admitted, though his voice was laced with sheepishness and genuine worry. His response earned a surprised look from Haruka, who couldn't keep the disbelief he felt upon Nagisa's statement from being displayed openly on his face.

"You are?" That was honestly very surprising. Nagisa- bright, cheerful, optimistic Nagisa- was nervous? He had seemed fine all this while, never expressing doubt about his team's chances at winning. But here he was, admitting the truth behind his feelings- he was just as worried as everyone else, with no certainty of knowing what was to come.

"What if I screw up my dive? Wouldn't I ruin it for everyone?" Nagisa quoted a couple of the many, many questions that troubled him as he swung lightly back and forth, wearing a small smile on his face as he gazed at the sky. "I'm worrying about things that I normally don't think about. Because I finally get to swim you guys and in a relay again!"

A look of surprise crossed Haruka's face at Nagisa's heartfelt statement, while the boy continued his tirade. "I can't wait- I want to make everyone proud. Gou-chan, Ama-chan, Goro-chan... Bya-kun even promised to treat me for lunch if we won too, so I'm definitely gonna give it my all!"

When Nagisa finally realized that Haruka was staring at him in stunned silence, he flushed when he realized he'd been ranting. A fairly nervous smile graced his lips and he scuffed his foot on the ground, trying to seem casual.

"And we're racing Rin-chan tomorrow, too." He shrugged, though he was still clearly embarrassed at how he'd neglected to watch his friend's reactions. "That's probably why you're nervous."

That was partially it, Haruka had to admit. But there was more- so much more that couldn't be put into words. Ever since that first day of the new school year, it had all been one crazy rollercoaster of emotions and events. There were the ups and the downs, but at the end of it all, Haruka knew that he would never have changed any of it for the world. He had learned so much over the last few months than he'd had in years- he'd learned the value of his friendship, acquired a purpose for his swimming... he was practically a new person.

And it all started because one bright, eager ball of sunshine had come bounding in from out of the blue, catapulting him and his friends into this marvellous journey.

"It's all thanks to you." Haruka murmured, just loud enough for Nagisa to hear.

"Huh?"

"You're the one who came up with the idea to start a swim club." Haruka continued, a faraway look in his eyes. That seemed like ages ago- how things had changed...

"Yep. That's right." Nagisa nodded proudly, evidently pleased to be acknowledged for his contribution. He had been the starting factor- the reason where they all were today. And he didn't know just how much Haruka owed him for it.

"I never thought I'd ever be swimming in a relay again." Haruka commented wistfully. He could still feel the rush of adrenaline and excitement- just the memory of the relays he had swam alongside his team had his goosebumps rising. The sight he'd seen during both those times... he never realized just how much he'd missed it.

"Well, in that case, you should be showing more gratitude to me!" Nagisa lectured in a mock-serious tone, wearing an arrogant grin on his face. He was joking, of course- he never meant for Haruka to take him seriously.

So it was a huge surprise when he did.

"Yeah." Haruka agreed, his response taking Nagisa by surprise. The blonde could only stare as Haruka turned to face him, his blue eyes gleaming with sincere emotion. He wasn't being sarcastic- he meant what he said, and he made sure Nagisa knew it. "Thanks, Nagisa."

To Nagisa's credit, he didn't seem as shocked as Makoto did as he slowly registered Haruka's words. When the true value of what he had just heard settled in, Nagisa's eyes began to tear up, though his lips parted into a bright grin as his bright eyes glittered with joy.

'Sunny' really was the appropriate term to describe Nagisa. His smile practically lit up the whole place with how bright and infectious his happiness was.

"Haru-chan!" He cried out happily, leaping off his seat as he threw his arms around Haruka in his eagerness. The force of his tackling hug nearly had Haruka falling off his seat and bringing them both to the ground, but miraculously Haruka managed to stay on, though his muscles were all tensed up as he tried to pry Nagisa off of him. Physical contact really wasn't his thing.

"H-hey." He protested weakly, pulling at Nagisa's tight grip around him. This boy really knew how to choke people in more ways than one...

"I'm so happy! This is great! Haru-chan!" Nagisa blubbered gleefully, oblivious to his friend's growing annoyance. Even as Haruka continued to protest and struggle futilely against the overexcited blonde, deep down, the raven-haired teen was honestly pleased with the way this had turned out.

He was part of his team too, after all. And he would never, ever forsake any of their happiness, no matter what.

* * *

><p>Crimson eyes stared blankly at the scenery in the distance as Rin watched the spinning wind turbines that spanned the wide open field. He stood on a small road some distance away from the main town which led to a spot that was popular among tourists during the day for the magnificent view it offered- the exact view he was gazing at now. There was a reason he had chosen this spot, after all, he couldn't choose some secluded place out in the middle of nowhere if he expected Ryugazaki to find him...<p>

Just as he contemplated this, the sound slow, precise footsteps greeted his ears, and were Rin in a more pleasant mood, he may even have cracked a small smile. Speak of the devil...

"Yo." Rin greeted, sparing a glance back at the bluenette who approached him. Rei Ryugazaki simply stared back passively, not making any reservations with his manners as he responded in a clipped voice.

"Did you want something?" He asked curtly, wasting no time in getting to the point. Rin wanted to scoff at that- of course he wouldn't act all polite and formal with someone he considered his rival. However, he didn't waste any time with his reply either, not wanting to inconvenience neither Ryugazaki nor himself.

"I never got to answer your question."

"That is no longer necessary." Rei cut him off, feeling somewhat irked at what was going on. Calling him out at this time just to get his own troubles off his back? Who did he think he was? The bluenette was ready to turn his back and walk away as it was, but something in Rin's voice when he spoke up again made him reconsider.

"No. I'll give you my answer." Rin insisted. Though his voice seemed void of emotion, there was something else underlining it- a certain desperation that Rei quickly caught on to. As if to confirm that detail, Rin glanced away and stared at the wind turbines in the distance, unwilling to look Rei in the eye as his voice tightened ever so slightly. "I won't feel like it's over until I do."

Ah, there it was. Rei just remained silent as he waited for Matsuoka to speak up, not offering any encouragement or discouragement at the notion of him voicing his confession. Though Rei had clearly threatened Rin back when he'd confronted him at Samezuka, he was not some cold-hearted beast- he would and could not simply leave someone who needed his help. Even if it was the boy who had caused his team so much distress, he would stay to at least hear him out if it would help anything.

Byakuya was right- he had a good heart. Perhaps even too good.

"You wanted to know how I felt about Haru, right?" Rin finally spoke up, making sure he kept his voice emotionless to avoid showing any weakness. "It's true that I was fixated on racing him, but it's not his fault that I wanted to quit swimming. I was pretty shocked when I lost to him, but that wasn't what did it."

Here, Rin cast his gaze upwards a little, staring at the star-spangled sky as he spoke, trying to remain as nonchalant as he could. Rei seemed a bit startled at what he had just confessed about the truth behind his quitting- that Haruka hadn't had anything to do with it- but he barely acknowledged this. Memories of his days in a foreign country, trying to settle down and learning different customs and languages... it was difficult enough to do even that, but what came after was a thousand times worse.

"After moving to Australia, I trained every day and participated in tournaments." Rin continued, his tone growing distant as he recalled that low point in his life. Every race that he swam, he would almost always emerge at the finish line last- his time worthless compared to those of the other swimmers. It was as if all his effort, time, blood, sweat and tears were all for naught- he just couldn't catch up, and he didn't understand why. "But I couldn't swim the way I wanted to. The Olympics were completely out of reach. I felt more and more like I was being left behind. I could only wonder- 'why was I struggling so much? Why?'"

Rin took a deep breath, his voice pitched low as he nearly whispered the last few words. "'Ah... it was because I swam in a relay. I ruined myself'. That was the only conclusion I could make."

His thoughts back then- stemming from his innocent, childish mind- had come to a simple conclusion. He couldn't understand why he was struggling so much, so he did the only thing he could do- he put the blame on what he assumed to be his own stupid mistakes. Because he had neglected training his own personal strengths, he had fallen behind- it was his fault, and it was the fault of his teammates. But the only reason he had concluded that... was because he couldn't bear to shoulder the blame alone.

"After returning to Japan, I didn't let any of them know. I didn't speak to them." Rin continued, his voice a bit more stable than before as he recalled his return to his homeland. The day he'd run into his old friends at the swim club, he'd cursed his luck- it would be when he was at his lowest that they would all run into him. He refused to say anything about himself to them- instead, he was intent on getting himself back up. So he did what he had to do- he challenged his arch rival one more time. "But when I swam with Haru that day, I had a breakthrough. I wanted to swim again."

He hadn't expected that race to have rekindled such a fire within him, but it did. For the first time in a long time... he had smiled- really, truly smiled. He joined the swimming team in his school, he worked hard to get back into shape... he found his drive once more. He thought he was on the top of the world when he'd finally beaten Haruka, but just when he thought that was the end of it... he was proved wrong again, that day at prefecturals.

"When I watched you guys swim at prefecturals, it reminded me of our relay." Rin confessed, his eyes falling shut as his hands clenched into fists inside his pockets. He remembered that sight so clearly- watching them all swim as a team and cheering each other on. It was terrifying how much it was like that relay he'd swam with them... and it was a painful wake up call, as well. "I remembered what it was like to swim for someone besides just yourself."

His honest statement took Rei aback, and the bluenette was shocked to hear the concealed pain and longing in Matsuoka's voice. This was the most open the boy had ever been with him, and for a moment, it was as if he saw a shadow of the Rin Matsuoka that his teammates had spoken so fondly of. "Rin-san, you..."

"Your name's Ryugazaki?" Rin interrupted, his voice firm. His gaze was steely as he looked Rei in the eye, making sure that Ryugazaki heard him loud and clear. "I will be swimming in Samezuka's relay. I'm going to show you just how good I can be. So do your best with Haru and your other teammates."

Here, Rin suddenly began walking off, intending to have the last say in this confrontation. He had said all that he needed to, but there was one last thing that he needed to make sure that Rei understood...

"But that also means you can't embarrass your team." He said simply, his voice betraying nothing as he continued on his way. "That's all I have to say. Sorry I had to make you come out here."

As Rin left with those departing words, Rei was left standing alone, not moving from his spot. He didn't even bother to look at Rin when he'd walked by him- he was too busy trying to understand what the boy had meant by his words. Though he had said that he had called Rei out here to explain things to him, it seemed more like this meeting had been meant more for his own conscience rather than Rei's. This late night encounter had revealed a side to Rin that Rei wasn't aware existed- one that revealed more complications and raw feelings than what Matsuoka's cold exterior portrayed. But something else that Rin said had embedded itself into Rei's head, and the bluenette found himself almost paralyzed as the words repeated over and over in his head...

_'You can't embarrass your team._'

... Because that was exactly what he feared the most.

* * *

><p>Once he'd finally convinced Nagisa that Rei would be fine and back in bed on his own, Haruka didn't waste any time as he bid him goodnight and headed back to his own room. He hoped that Makoto was already asleep- it was pretty late, and if his absence had concerned Makoto enough to keep him awake and waiting, he would feel immensely guilty, even if Makoto would reassure him that it wasn't his fault. Both he and his mother had that same effect on people- it was most discomforting...<p>

Turning the doorknob and entering the room, Haruka braced himself for a lecture for having stayed out so late... only for his jaw to drop open slightly when he beheld the sight before him.

Makoto was sleeping alright, but he wasn't alone. Byakuya was snuggled securely against the boy's chest, his long arms wrapped around her waist as her head rested in the crook of his neck.

Haru's cerulean eyes regarded them both closely for a while, remembering a time when all of them were just awkward children who didn't even know how to speak with one another without feeling completely weirded out. Now, his two closest friends were falling for each other, moving past the stage of mere friendship into something more...

A smile seemed to play on his lips for a moment, before it disappeared as quickly as it came. He frowned a bit as he realized two very important details...

One- Neither of them had officially confessed to the other.

Two- He may or may not become a third wheel when they did.

...

Growing up sucked.

* * *

><p>"What?!"<p>

Rin's incredulous voice echoed off the walls in the hallway of the hotel where he and his team currently resided, though he couldn't bring himself to care how loud he was being or how many people he had disturbed with such a loud exclamation. His captain merely stared back at him dispassionately, evicting no emotion other than a calm, authoritative decisiveness with his tense posture and furrowed brow. When Rin had come back from his late-night stroll, Nitori had informed him that Captain Mikoshiba was looking for him, but this... this was not what he had been expecting at all.

The paper in his hands listed the names of all the events that were to take place tomorrow at regionals, and the names of all the swimmers involved in each event. His crimson eyes were locked onto only one event in particular, though- and that was the medley relay. The members taking part were Azuma Yuuki in the backstroke leg, Ueda Tsuyoshi in the breaststroke leg, and in the butterfly leg...

Tetsuo Kawamura?

Where was his name?!

"This will be our lineup for the relay tomorrow." Mikoshiba's stern voice confirmed calmly, prompting Rin's wide eyed gaze to flicker back to his captain. Mikoshoba betrayed nothing with his cold expression- as if he was simply stating the facts. "You can focus on the 100m free."

"Wait! Why?!" Rin demanded, unable to comprehend why he would be taken out at the last minute, and on such short notice. Seijuurou's expression barely changed despite his underclassman's insistence- if anything, his expression became stonier.

"You haven't paid attention to your own relay team. You're focused on something else." He stated simply, daring Matsuoka to challenge his statement. Rin looked like he was about to protest again, but he choked on his words, unable to believe what he was hearing. However, Seijuurou wasn't changing his mind, and he made it clear.

"I'm putting our best members out there. That's what a team should do." Mikoshiba continued, though this time, his voice was more reprimanding as he looked Rin in the eye. "You are not in your best condition right now."

Rin's face was stricken with horror. He wanted to scream, to shout, to demand that he be allowed to swim in this relay. But Mikoshiba's golden eyes were unyielding, and he knew there was no changing his decision.

"You can't..." Was the only response Rin could cough out, his voice tight and almost pathetically soft. All and any fighting spirit that he possessed had completely escaped him now as he realized what this meant- how it would destroy all his chances of finishing what he started. His only hope of setting things straight and finding his purpose... gone, just like that.

This wasn't a punishment.

It was condemnation.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I can hear you all going "oh FINALLY another kiss, about time!" 8'D. Pardon the extra cheesiness of the fluff this chapter- my brain juice is running dry from all the studying I've been doing OTL. Speaking of which, guys- due to my upcoming exam, I won't be updating this fic until about December or so. I'm really sorry about the delay, but this exam is pretty crucial to me. So... yeah. Sorry guys- I'll be back as soon as I can though, so wish me luck!<strong>

**In the meantime, however, I have opened up a poll on my profile regarding what pairing you guys would like to see in my next story. I want to try something different for my next Free fic (less canon-based and more original events), so do drop a vote if you can to help me out! It would be greatly appreciated ;D (and uh, ya'll can choose to vote for a KnB one or recommend another series if ya'll are sick of the swimming boys lol)**

**Thanks ever so much to LadyAmazon, savitron9001, Shizuka Kitsune, USMCcAnthem, MyFriendsAreMyPower, toesliketowers, Blue Fire Lily, Mazgrl98, silent-raven98 (Thanks for the review! I have to admit, I do love writing some cheeky, dirty-minded Nagisa haha!), and Guest (Thank you for your input! I appreciate it a lot!) for reviewing, and everyone else that has added this story to your favourites and/or alerts!**

**After hearing some of your suggestions and opinions, I've decided to do just a single one-shot at the end of this to add on to the ending... BUT! After some more thought and a random muse out of the blue, I've decided that I won't be quite done with Byakuya yet. I'm contemplating writing a whole new fic with her again with a new storyline, and I've narrowed it down to this- it's either going to be a Future Fish AU or a Splash Free desert AU. So do let me know which one you'd like to see more, dear readers- I love hearing from you guys!**

**Sorry for such a long AN, fellas! I'll see you next time ;D**


	55. Chapter 55

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC_. _**

_A tall sakura tree stood in the yard of Iwatobi Elementary School, barren of all leaves and blooms despite the arrival of Spring. In spite of the bright bursts of colour from the flower bed surrounding its base, the sheer size of the tree still took priority. Yet even so, one could not distract themselves from glancing back at the tiny blossoms that seemed to brighten the atmosphere with their subtle beauty. Though they seemed small and insignificant compared to the grand sakura tree, they were still vital to the scene as a whole- without them, no passerby would look twice at the bare sakura tree. When the cherry blossoms bloomed, the tree would no doubt take all the attention- but until then, the little flowers would continue to draw attention to the little corner of the field, making sure that no one would overlook what truly would be a magnificent sight over time._

_In many ways, Haruka Nanase saw himself as that sakura tree. It was indisputable that out of his whole team, he was the one with the most talent- the one that stood out the most. Alone, he was magnificent- a sight to behold, but only for a moment; for he did not shine quite so brightly on his own. There were times that his talents would bloom and flourish, and all eyes would be on him, but then he would stop caring about winning and he would fade out of attention. That was the way the cycle worked- he grew, he bloomed, then he died away, only to bloom again when the opportunity presented itself. He was tranquil and satisfied with where he was, never striving for more because he was right where he wanted to be._

_But now, surrounded by his teammates, things were different. Even when he wasn't flourishing, they all continued to push on and grow, their own talents developing as they showed their worth. Though they would never be as grand as Haruka, they still fought on as they let their own abilities shine through. As they did so, they wouldn't go unnoticed of course- and since they were a team, the attention was shared amongst everyone. And unlike Haruka, they didn't bother to hide their strengths- they wanted to shine, to prove their worth, to win._

_And though they were so different in their ideals, they meshed perfectly. Neither one outshined the other for long- it was the perfect balance. The perfect team._

_"So, it's not in bloom yet."_

_Rin Matsuoka's voice- tinged with a hint of regret despite his attempt at nonchalance- drew Haruka out of his musings as they all stood before the old sakura tree. They had all decided to pay the place a visit before their big relay at Rin's insistence- the redhead looked sorely disappointed at his unfortunate luck, he had so been looking forward to seeing the grand tree at its full beauty ever since he'd found it. To not be granted his tiny wish was a bit distressing for him, especially since he would be leaving less than twenty four hours._

_"I told you it was too early." Despite how all-knowing his words may have seemed, Makoto's voice still held its normal, gentle timbre- making it sound like more of a simple statement instead of a smug remark._

_But I really wanted to see it in bloom." Rin sighed, placing his hands behind his head as his crimson eyes stared wistfully at the branches of the tree. "Since today's my last look at it._

_"Don't speak as if you're going away forever." Byakuya chimed in, frowning at her friend as she lightly punched him in the arm. "You'll be back someday- you'll see."_

_"Yeah. Maybe." The hesitant and unsure manner in which Rin responded sounded so unlike him- normally his statements were so full of energy and confidence. But it was no surprise that he would be at least a bit concerned about what was to come- the future was so uncertain for a mere twelve year-old, and to be moving all the way to another country without his family and friends... truth be told, Rin was almost frightened. The only thing that kept him from backing out was..._

_"Rin." The addressed boy turned his head towards Haruka as his name was called, curious as to what spurred him to call out first._

_"What is it?"_

_"Are you going to follow your dad's dream?"_

_Speak of the devil. Rin gave a nervous chuckle and attempted his usual, goofy smile- it was almost as if Nanase was reading his mind. A scary thought, given how silent he normally was. "I dunno yet." He confessed. But before Haruka could think of a way to continue the conversation- he still wasn't too good with words- a curious question from Nagisa diverted their attention._

_"Hey, hey." The blonde called out cheerily, squatting down as he eyed the low brick wall surrounding the flower bed. Pointing enthusiastically at the paint-smeared bricks, he observed, "There's stuff written on the bricks!"_

_"For graduation, we made this garden and wrote our favourite phrases on the bricks." Makoto was the first to answer the eager boy, squatting down beside him as he pointed at one specific brick in the wall. "Here's mine- 'I swim'." He read aloud._

_"And here's mine." Rin was quick to join in as well as he pointed out his own brick. However, to his friends' confusion his words were written in English- words that were at a level that was far too high for them to understand at their young age._

_"What does it say?" Nagisa questioned, unable to translate the words. Rin simply shut his eyes and smiled in response, feeling a warmth in his heart as he replied..._

_"_For the team._" He quoted. "Nakama no tameni."_

_Upon those words, all of them "ooh"ed in realization, feeling a sense of amazement and wonder at the profound words- even Haru looked surprised. It resonated within them deeply- even more so because if the closeness they all shared as teammates. It reflected just how deeply Rin valued his team- enough to put it into a short and simple quote that carried so much meaning to them all._

_As Nagisa turned to look at the rest of the bricks on the wall, one in particular caught his eye again. Pointing at it excitedly, the boy was quick to say, "Oh, this must be Haru-chan's!"_

_Indeed it was. On the brick was written a very familiar word that was written in smooth handwriting- 'Free'._

_"Of course." Byakuya jested, shrugging as she grinned impishly. "Who else would write something so vague?"_

_"That's not nice." Makoto reprimanded jokingly, earning a round of lighthearted laughter from the gang- except Haruka, who looked a little miffed despite his otherwise blank expression._

_"Which one is yours, Bya-kun?" Nagisa glanced over the bricks curiously, wondering which one could belong to the dark-haired girl. Byakuya simply pointed at a brick with the word 'forever' written across it, the familiar infinity symbol drawn just beneath it. "There."_

_Nagisa blinked at the word, intrigued for a moment, before something clicked in his mind. "Forever, huh? I didn't think you'd choose that, Bya-kun."_

_"Yeah." Byakuya absently agreed, her own eyes trained on the word she had written. She wondered if it were possible- for them to swim together like this for the rest of their lives. But things were already changing so fast- Rin was moving, Nagisa still had a year to go in elementary school, and her mom was getting worse each day. If that was the way things were now, who was to say how much worse things would get along the way?_

_A hand slipped into her own just as she began to spiral downwards in her train of thought, bringing her back to reality. Her eyes darted up to meet emerald green, and she was slightly surprised to see that Makoto had gotten up at some point to stand next to her again as he held onto her hand. The olive-haired boy gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, smiling with an even kinder expression than usual._

_"It'll get better." He whispered. "Things _will_ be better. You'll see."_

_They were just words. Simple, ineffective words that had no power to change what was happening. But even so, they did have the power to instill a sense of hope in Byakuya- one that she clung desperately to as everything else slipped away. It was small, but it was steady- and that was what she needed the most._

_"Yeah. I hope so."_

* * *

><p>The moment his alarm clock went off, Makoto Tachibana wanted to groan in frustration. He was still extremely groggy, his head felt heavy, and for the life of him he couldn't remember just where he had placed his alarm clock in the first place. Instinctively, he reached out to smack the alarm off on the desk next to his bedside... only for his hand to swipe through thin air as he forgot that he wasn't actually in his room, and that there was a wide space between his current bed and the table.<p>

Caught off balance by his careless mistake, the boy found himself giving a small exclamation of surprise as he toppled off his bed. However, what he had completely forgotten and had barely been aware of up to that point was the person who had been clinging onto him all this while as she slept, who had also been innocently oblivious to the going-ons before her rude awakening. And as Makoto's luck would have it, he then gave Byakuya a most memorable wake-up call by conveniently falling on her as they both crashed to the floor.

"Gah!" Byakuya could only gasp as the air was literally knocked out of her, the weight of Makoto's huge stature pressing down on her forcing the air from her lungs. She could barely comprehend what was going on- what the hell?! She had just gotten up!

"Byaku-chan?!" Makoto was quick to respond to her painful intake of breath, his expression panicked as he tried to get a look at her. "Are you okay?!"

"C-can't... breathe!" Byakuya gasped, her reply prompting Makoto's face to pale as he all but scrambled off of her, leaving the girl to roll over on her side as she tried to regain her breath.

"I'm sorry!" He apologized frantically, unsure of what to do now. Was he supposed to check if she was injured? "How are you feeling?" He asked tentatively.

"Pained." Byakuya groaned in response. "I think everything is broken."

"I'm sorry!" Makoto apologized again, not knowing what else to do. Oh god, what had he done?! Today was the competition! What if she couldn't swim properly now? What if he'd actually broken her ribs? Or worst of all- what if she refused to sleep next to him ever again?!

"What are you two doing?"

The sound of Haru's bland voice startled Makoto in the midst of his panic, and the boy spun around to see that Haruka was sitting up in his bed, his expression a mixture of confusion and boredom as he stared at the scene before him. Makoto couldn't blame him- this must have made quite an interesting sight to wake up to, what with one person groaning in pain and the other at a complete loss for words as they slowly broke down.

Huh. Now that he thought about it, this sounded a lot like that time on the island.

"Haru!" Makoto frantically tried to piece together a sentence, while Haruka looked as unimpressed as ever. "W-we were just-"

"Excuse me." Byakuya interrupted as she clutched the edge of the bed and pulled herself up, her breath coming out in a painful gasp as she got to her feet. "Need to go." She pointed at the door, her vague sentence hardly making sense to the two boys.

"Where are you going?" Makoto inquired,scrambling to his feet as well in case she required his assistance.

"Room. Change. Competition." Byakuya coughed out, waving her hand in a circular motion as if that explained everything.

"Do you need a hand?"

"No. I'm fine." A pause, and then she added a sheepish, "I think."

"I really am sorry!"

"Stop apologizing." Byakuya sighed as she reached the door, walking out of the room and leaving the door open behind her as she did so- she must have been in quite a but of pain to forget to shut it. As both Haruka and Makoto stared after her blankly for a moment, they heard the door to the room next to theirs opening, followed by the confused voices of their other teammates.

"Senpai? Are you alright?" Rei's voice reached their ears, tinged with concern. "We heard a crash."

"Everything's dandy." Byakuya reassured none too convincingly. From the sound of it, it looked like she was having trouble with her keys too- Makoto cringed at the thought. What on earth had he done...

"Are you sure you're okay, senpai?" Rei reiterated, evidently unconvinced by his senior's weak lie.

"Just... in a lot of pain." The sound of Byakuya finally opening her door and stumbling into her room followed suit. "I'll explain once I stop hurting... everywhere."

"...Wow." Nagisa mused thoughtfully once the door had shut behind the girl. "I didn't expect Mako-chan to be so rough on Bya-kun for their first ti-"

A loud 'thwack' cut Nagisa off before he could finish his inappropriate statement, and the sound of the blonde's incredulous lament was heard soon after. "Ow! Rei-chan, what was that for?!"

Amidst all the jarring conversations that were taking place all around him, Makoto could only wince at the thought of what he had just done to start this chain of reactions. All he'd wanted was to turn off his alarm! And just when he thought he was finally making some good progress with Byakuya, he had to muck it all up by falling on her.

He was terrible at wooing women.

As Makoto continued to hit himself over the head for his stupidity, Haruka took the opportunity to raise an eyebrow at his best friend as if to say, 'interesting night?'. In response, Makoto just groaned and planted his face in his palm.

"I suck at this."

"You really do."

* * *

><p>Haruka had very mixed feelings about nostalgia. It wasn't something he liked to linger on for too long- he was the sort of person who preferred to live in the present instead of thinking too hard on events that had already transpired. Besides that, thinking of the past for too long- even the happier moments- always brought on the more depressing moments as well, something he didn't really appreciate. It wasn't to say that his past was filled with tragedy or anything of the sort- amidst the tougher moments, he had an otherwise enjoyable and peaceful childhood- he simply didn't see the point of doing so.<p>

However, as he stood beneath the sakura tree behind the stadium, he found that the sense of nostalgia that overwhelmed him was actually quite welcoming. He remembered the days of his childhood, when he'd looked upon a tree not too different from this one, and had thought ill of the gaudy flowers surrounding it. It had taken a lot of patience and time to realize it, but he soon found out just how wrong he had been- how even something less grand or magnificent than the main focus could prove to be so significant as a whole.

He, who had so often put himself first and foremost without a care in the world, had been forced into a team he had been so skeptical about joining. But now, he couldn't imagine his life without them.

_'Nakama no tameni.'_

"Haru-chan! Hurry up!"

The dark-haired boy spared a glance over his shoulder upon Nagisa's call, spotting the blonde standing amongst the rest of his teammates. Seeing them now only served to reaffirm his musings- yes, he was glad that they had barged into his life; that they had grown around him like the flowers around the old sakura tree. Now they all stood there with smiles on their faces, waiting for him to join them so that they could venture forth to pursue the dream they had.

But first, he had something he had to do...

"I'm coming." He called back to Nagisa, before turning back around and squatting down before the tree. A nearby stick caught his eye, and he hardly batted an eyelash as he grasped it in his hand, using the tip to write out something on the ground. A message to remind himself of what was important- of why he swam.

"What's he doing?" Rei wondered aloud as he watched the senior's back, unable to read the words he was scrawling into the dirt. Nagisa appeared puzzled for a moment as well, but as he observed the scene for a while longer...

"Oh! Isn't that tree..."

"...Ah!" Makoto started when he caught on to what Nagisa was saying, a smile lighting up his face as memories of a promise and childhood dreams returned to the forefront of his mind. "It looks just like _that_ tree!"

"Right?" Nagisa grinned at the olive-haired boy, before turning to face the girl standing to his right. "Don't you think so too, Bya-"

That is, the girl he _thought_ had been standing to his right. Where a tall, broad-shouldered lass should have been was now nothing but empty space, and for a few long seconds, the three members of the swim club could only stare dumbfoundedly at where their teammate had been standing just a few seconds ago. When their brains finally processed what they were seeing...

"Where'd she go?!"

Their loud shout almost made Haruka drop the stick he'd been holding.

* * *

><p>Byakuya trudged through the hallways of the huge stadium in almost a dazed state, following the signs that directed her to the girls' locker rooms yet not quite knowing for sure that she was headed in the right direction. She'd gotten an unexpected text from someone she hadn't spoken to in a while, requesting for a brief reunion at the vending machine next to the locker room. After a few more minutes of walking- during which she texted Makoto back to inform him of the reason behind her unannounced disappearance which apparently caused a but of a stir amongst her friends, much to her guilt- Shion wondered if she was lost. That was when she caught sight of the entrance to the locker rooms- finally- and saw the figure dressed in Kingyo's blue and gold tracksuit leaning against the wall next to the nearby vending machine.<p>

"Did I keep you waiting?" Byakuya asked concernedly as she approached Meiko Aikawa, who had her eyes closed as she leaned her dark head against the wall. A small smirk eventually graced the older girl's lips upon her greeting, and her eyes opened to reveal eyes that were almost as black as her hair. Despite her intimidating appearance, the short, jovial laugh that escaped Aikawa's lips was enough to reassure anyone that she was friendly enough- this was emphasized when Aikawa tossed Byakuya a can of Pocket Sweat that she hadn't noticed was in her hand, and she fumbled upon catching it, much to her chagrin.

"Not at all." Meiko responded easily, still smiling as she met her eye. "It's been a while, Shion."

"Sure has." The girl mumbled in response. Despite her embarrassed tone, Byakuya noticed that she found it much easier to meet Aikawa's eye than it was during their last encounter- a fact that reassured her of her progress since that time.

"You've changed since we last met, Shion." Aikawa pointed out, her smirk softening into a smile. Clearly, she noticed the change in her demeanour as well. "I like it- suits you better."

"Thanks." Byakuya replied, playing idly with the can in her hands. A question that had been lingering at the back of her mind for some time then occurred to her, and though Byakuya knew she should really ask why Meiko had called her out here, she couldn't help but blurt out, "Um, Aikawa-san."

"Hm?" Meiko responded before Byakuya could try to take back what she'd said. After hesitating for a moment, she decided she might as well give the question a shot since she already started it, and slowly voiced her thoughts.

"Is it true that you're going to be training for the Olympics after you graduate?" She asked tentatively, unsure of what Meiko's reaction would be. To her surprise, the captain just laughed lightheartedly, shaking her head as she did so.

"There's no way I'm good enough for the Olympics yet." Meiko scoffed. "People just blow that rumour out of proportions."

"Yeah. I suppose they would." Byakuya mused, understanding a bit about the situation Meiko was in. As someone descended from a name as big as 'Shion', rumours of her skills and capacities were both compared and sometimes exaggerated when it came to swimming.

"Well, I'll cut to the chase, Shion." Meiko continued breezily, her ability to regain her composure so quickly almost alarming Byakuya- talk about adaptable. However, what came out of Aikawa's mouth next caught her complete attention.

"I'm here to tell you that I'm moving elsewhere after graduation."

Byakuya's jaw dropped.

"You're transferring to another part of Japan?" She gaped, but Aikawa just shook her head and chuckled in response.

"Another country, actually." The older girl corrected, wearing a wry smile. "Been working on my English lately. Gonna be moving to Australia soon."

"Australia?" Byakuya echoed in disbelief. She couldn't believe it- she was barely getting to know Meiko, and was actually kind of looking forward to getting to know her better once things settled down... and now she wasn't going to get that chance?

"You could say that." Meiko smiled mysteriously, her words puzzling Byakuya for a moment before Aikawa shrugged again. "The funds are killer, though- have to starve myself for a couple of months." She lamented jokingly.

"I see..." Byakuya trailed off, still not quite able to grasp it all. Talk about a sudden revelation...

"But anyway... I wanted to ask if you've reconsidered my offer." Meiko continued gently, but casually as she looked back at Shion once more. "Not about leaving your team, of course- but about pursuing a career with your swimming."

Ah, there it was. Byakuya inhaled deeply, knowing that this had been coming- Meiko *did* promise to check in on her again on that offer. And while she knew that Aikawa was perhaps hoping for a positive reply this time. Byakuya was a little unsure as to why Meiko seemed so keen on asking her about it again- perhaps she didn't like seeing potential and talent going to waste, being a captain and all- but unfortunately for her... Byakuya's answer hadn't changed.

"I definitely have." She acknowledged, but her tone was final. "But I think I have other dreams in mind."

"Knew it." To her vague surprise, Byakuya noticed that Meiko seemed very accepting- almost as if she'd expected it, much like the last time she'd made her offer; she was even chuckling! There was a twinkle of amusement in the captain's eye as she popped open her own soda can, downing a few gulps before she continued. "So what are your plans?" Meiko asked curiously, probably wondering why she would deny an opportunity for an easier future by pursuing swimming as a career.

"I haven't quite decided yet." Byakuya admitted, earning a raised eyebrow from the older girl. However, she wasn't deterred- her mind was made up. "But I do know that I'm not the one who deserves to stand on that international stage- not when I don't yearn for it as much as I should."

"You're sure about this, then?" Meiko asked softly, her concern for someone who she barely knew aside from a few chance encounters surprising Byakuya. It reminded her a bit of the way she had seen Seijuurou leading his team- stern, yet always accounting for the weaknesses of some of his teammates and trying to encourage then to work on it. Or the way Makoto always encouraged them to do their best, and tried to engage them each personally when he saw his teammates struggling on any way.

The gentleness and guiding ways of team captains like these never ceased to amaze her sometimes.

"Yeah. I'm sure." Byakuya nodded firmly, wanting to settle any worries that Meiko had for her. The Kingyo captain silently gazed at her for a little while, offering her time to reconsider or maybe to change her mind, but Byakuya wasn't budging. She was sure of her decision, even if it meant she had to fight a little harder and struggle a little more.

She would live her life the way she wanted to.

"...Well, they can't say I didn't try, at least." Meiko eventually consented, closing her eyes for a while as her smile lingered on her lips. When she reopened them, Byakuya saw that there was a conceding look in her eye, and even a hint of disappointment- perhaps Aikawa did feel slightly affected by her choice, but if she did she didn't say anything. Meiko simply extended her hand to her and smiled warmly at her, her expression free of ill will. "Good luck, Shion. I wish you all the best."

"Right back at you." Byakuya returned, grasping Meiko's hand as she shook it firmly. "I hope to see you fulfilling your dream someday, Aikawa-san."

"Of course." Meiko released her hand first, taking a step back as she offered Byakuya one last piece of advice. "...Win it for them, Shion."

At that, Byakuya smiled.

"Always."

* * *

><p>Aboard a bus that had just stopped at the car park of the stadium grounds, Rin Matsuoka remained unmoving in his seat as everyone else began to leave the vehicle, his crimson eyes staring blankly at the space in front of him. He was completely numb- after the shock stemming from the sudden announcement from his captain yesterday had subsided, his mind had just blanked out. He hadn't even gotten much sleep that night, either- his mind just kept replaying the words over and over and over, refusing to leave him alone as they haunted him with their grave implication.<p>

_'I'm putting our best members out there. That's what a team should do. You are not in your best condition right now.'_

Aiichirou, who had been careful to avoid Rin ever since his silent return from his meeting with their captain, slowly approached him now as he stopped next to his senior's seat, hesitating as he watched Rin's cold expression. However, he couldn't just say nothing- this was the person he admired, whom he hoped to befriend and support. He had to think of something to say that would cheer him up, or at least put hin at ease...

"Matsuoka-senpai, uh..." Nitori inwardly chastised himself for his stutter, forcing hinself to attain a more cheerful tone as he tried to approach Rin once again. "Cheer up! You'll get another shot at the relay in nationals! Our school will definitely advance!"

Unfortunately for Nitori, he was unaware of the clenching of Rin's fists with each word that left his mouth, and he continued obliviously as he said, "So, you should focus on your 100m free today and forget about the relay-"

Rin snapped.

"Shut up!" He yelled as he shot up from his seat, his furious voice silencing Nitori immediately. Matsuoka's eyes were narrowed into a sharp, incensed glare, but there was something that Aiichirou saw beneath it all just before the second-year pushed past him and stomped off- an emotion he recognized as pain.

"Senpai..." Nitori couldn't say anything more, couldn't call out to the person he thought of as his friend. He didn't know what to say or do anymore- his attempt at lightening the mood had only angered Rin further, and it dissuaded him from pursuing him and trying again. For now, he could tell that Rin wanted to be alone. However... he couldn't help but wonder if that would actually help anything at all.

* * *

><p>Byakuya was wandering through the halls once again as she tried desperately to find the spectator stands where the others supposedly were. In her attempt to find the stands, she had followed a large group of people, assuming that they were headed in the direction of her destination. Unfortunately, she had followed the wrong crowd the first time and had ended up outside the stadium instead, so she had to follow the signs again anyway. The stadium was just way too big- in her attempt to follow the signs, she had even accidentally made a wrong turn and had ended up finding the main electrical room that supplied power to the stadium.<p>

She admittedly felt like a bit of an idiot for not being able to follow such simple directions. Maybe a pretty big one.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wander around for long. When she finally saw the light coming from the open doorway leading to the stands, she wanted to give a whoop of victory- but of course, she had to restrain herself. She didn't want to look like a loon in front of so many people.

"...Swim to your heart's content! Swim so you have no regrets!"

Oh, crap. Byakuya cringed as she spotted her friends standing with the rest of the team, having overheard the last sentences of what had probably been a very inspiring speech towards the team on Coach Sasabe's part. She dreaded the wrath he would unleash upon her for missing his grand motivational talk. As the others all responded with a heartfelt "Yes!", Byakuya tried to inch slowly back towards the exit- maybe she could slip away quietly and meet them all down at the assembly-

"There you are!"

Too late.

Byakuya yelped as Kou appeared out of practically nowhere, pulling at her ear as punishment. The redheaded manager was evidently displeased at her tardiness- her glare was far more intimidating than that of Sasabe's, and that was really saying something.

"What do you think you're doing, goofing off right before the big race?" Kou demanded angrily, ignoring Makoto's attempt to gently coax her to release Shion's ear. The others were just standing by and letting their manager rant- some friends they were.

"I wasn't goofing off!" Byakuya argued, trying to justify her innocence. Kou didn't seem satisfied at her reply, but she still released Byakuya's ear, much to the girl's relief. She winced as she rubbed at her sore appendage- sometimes she had to question just who was the senior and who was the underclassman whenever Kou got into one of her moods. The younger girl didn't seem to be quite done with her lecturing yet, but thankfully Miss Amakata intervened before it could continue.

"Now, now. Let's not argue here." Miho's gentle voice intervened, before she placed a hand over her heart and lifted her chin. "Remember, 'disunity is one of our enemy's greatest tools'! Should we fight now, the conflict would only affect our performance later, this much was proven by-"

Just before Amakata could complete her quote, the speakers crackled to life.

"All competitors, please gather in the assembly space."

"Ah, we have to line up!" Nagisa cried urgently, grabbing Rei's arm immediately as he quickly dragged him off- as always. "Let's go, everyone!"

"N-Nagisa-kun! Don't pull my arm!" Was all that Rei could sputter out, the blonde barely giving him time to regain balance properly.

"Sorry, sensei." Makoto apologized on their behalf, his own expression bearing a look of slight panic as he began backtracking in the direction Nagisa had run off. "Maybe you can finish that quote some other time."

"Wish us luck, everyone!" Byakuya called back as well, before she, Makoto and Haruka broke into a run to catch up with the two underclassmen, leaving everyone else staring after them blankly.

"...Well, they sure are spirited." Coach Sasabe crossed his arms, shrugging. He had to give them that much.

"I suppose you could say that..." Kou said slowly, shooting Miss Amakata a hesitant glance. The teacher wore a small, plastered on smile on her face- despite how innocent it may have seemed on the surface, there was a dark aura brimming just beneath the surface. Clearly, her students cutting her off and running away before she could finish yet another one of her favoured quotations. Kou shuddered and unconsciously took a step back.

"Matsuoka-san," The addressed girl nearly jumped when the teacher turned towards her, her smile still stuck on her face. "When is the next training session?"

"O-oh! Well, uhm..." Kou fumbled with her pocketbook as she pulled it out, her fingers trembling slightly as she flipped through the pages as quickly as she could. "Next Tuesday." She affirmed.

"Double all their drills."

"W-what?" The redhead gaped at that- even *she* wasn't that vengeful! And yet, the teacher seemed completely serious as she met the girl's eye- there was a dangerous gleam in those chestnut irises, and Kou had to repress another shudder.

"We have to make sure they're in top shape, right?" Miho tilted her head innocently. "Especially since they were so eager to get ready."

"Even so, they were only following the announcement." Goro protested in defense of his students. A mistake- Miho's frame stiffened, and Sasabe was oblivious to it all. "And double seems a bit-"

"Do you have something to say, Sasabe-san?" Amakata turned on him immediately, her smile stretching wider. The message was clear- 'my team, my rules. Do not interfere'.

"N-nothing." Sasabe retracted his words immediately, turning his head in the other direction as he swallowed- with great difficulty. Even the other students who had come to cheer on the school team were inching away slowly, unwilling to take part in the swimming club's drama.

Chigusa Hanamura couldn't help but shake her head, emitting a silent sigh. The women of the swim club were quite the bunch- with Kou's no-nonsense attitude, Miss Amakata's subtle dictatorship, and Byakuya's occasional intimidation, one honestly had to question if this male-dominated bunch was actually domineered by the female minority.

...

Yeah. Definitely the women.

* * *

><p>His event was one of the first. Of course it would be.<p>

Throughout the whole assembly, Rin had remained stone-cold and numb to all that was happening around him. He didn't even try to look around to catch a glimpse of the Iwatobi quintet- hell, he barely even gave a damn anymore. Why should he, anyway? His only chance of competing against them was gone anyway, so why bother?

This was what he had kept telling himself over and over again as he got ready for his event- even as he opened up his locker to store away his belongings just before his race, he was repeating it over and over to himself. He didn't have to care anymore- he couldn't afford to. These kind of thoughts would only hinder his progress and slow him down, and he couldn't afford to lose. He didn't need to race them in a relay- he could figure things out on his own. He had to get it together, at the very least he had to prove that he was the best. He would prove Mikoshiba wrong- he could be in his best condition, and he would make hin regret pulling him off the relay team. He would-

All of his thoughts screeched to a dead stop the moment Rin opened his locker, seeing that the picture of his father in his unzipped bag. Upon seeing his father's face, grinning so widely and happily at him from the frozen image, Rin remembered the dream he had fought so long and so fruitlessly for.

And it broke something inside him.

The boy ground his teeth together and slammed his locker shut with all the force he could muster, not caring if anyone was staring as he let his temper show. He quickly threw his sports jacket onto the bench, no longer caring about anything else. He just had to win- he had to! But yet, if winning was all he needed, why did he want to race them so badly? Why did he feel so angry at having that chance taken from him?

Why did it hurt so much?

As he walked into the corridor that joined the locker rooms to the poolside, his steps were deceivingly calm and decisive- the complete opposite of how he was really feeling. In his self-absorbed state he wasn't watching as he walked towards the pool, and a group of female swimmers walking in the opposite direction had the unfortunate luck of crossing paths with him. The tallest brunette at the front of the group, who had been chatting obliviously with her friends happened to bump shoulders with him, and she immediately tried to apologize.

"Ah! I'm sorry-"

"Watch where you're going!" Rin growled ferociously at the short-haired girl he had just run into, startling her and her friends as they backed up their steps upon his incensed glare. He didn't feel the slightest bit sorry- he needed to lash out at something, anything, if only to help keep his mind off all his inner turmoil. He then turned back around and continued on his way, the image of the stunned brunette already fading from his mind.

"Geez, what's his problem?" The blonde of the group, Kazune Ito muttered, glaring at the boy's retreating back. "It was just an accident. Hey, Captain-"

The girl abruptly cut herself off when she saw her captain staring at the redhead she had just bumped shoulders with, but instead of looking mad or annoyed... her expression was completely flat.

"Captain?" She tried again, this time with a bit more caution than before. Meiko blinked herself out of her stupor upon her vice captain's call, sheepishly rubbing her neck as she shot them a weak grin.

"Oh, it's nothing." She assured none too convincingly. But before anyone could question her, she had already resumed walking as if nothing had happened. "Let's go."

"O-okay." The blonde stuttered, still not quite over her surprise at her captain's leniency. It wasn't that Aikawa was the type to hound someone for something as insignificant as rudeness, but still her reaction hadn't been quite normal. Unless...

Kazune frowned. What did the captain see that she didn't?

* * *

><p>"Men's 100m freestyle, third heat."<p>

"Rin-chan's up next!" Nagisa announced enthusiastically, his wide grin evicting his anticipation for this race. However, their eagerness for the race that was to come was shared by all of them- even more so by Kou, who was standing eagerly at the railing to cheer her brother on.

"Onii-chan! You can do it!" The girl cheered loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth to make sure her voice reached her brother, who was lining up in front of his assigned lane along with the rest of the competitors. Earlier during the assembly, she had noticed Rin's silent and almost empty expression- something that concerned her greatly. However, it only made her all the more determined to do what she could to support him, which was exactly what she did.

Hearing Kou's voice in the otherwise silent stadium, it was all Rin could do not to wince. His sister was here- one of the last remaining members of his family. After all that big talk about achieving their father's dream, if he failed here... how on earth would he ever face her again?

As the swimmers steppes up onto the starting blocks, they all pulled their goggles and swim caps over their heads, preparing for the signal. Rin was no exception, but there was something different about him that made Byakuya frown worriedly.

"He didn't..." She trailed off, her murmur almost indiscernible. However, Rei caught on to it, and turned towards her inquisitively.

"What is it, senpai?" He asked, not sure of what she could have meant. Byakuya didn't answer at first- even if she did, she doubted that Rei would have understood it anyway. Ever since they were young, Rin always had a particular way of putting on his goggles- he would stretch the elastic strap at the back of his head far out and let it snap down, it was his trademark. But this time, he hadn't done that- and that was the first indication she got that something was wrong.

"Nothing." Byakuya shook her head, trying to convince herself more than anything else. She smacked her face with her hands lightly, inwardly telling herself that she was overthinking things. "Maybe it's my imagination..."

"If you're sure..." Rei conceded uncertainly, not quite buying her reply. But his attention was then drawn back to the competition at hand when the announcer gave the signal to get ready, prompting all the swimmers to get into the starting positions. Like the rest of his friends, Rei's eyes were immediately drawn to the redheaded swimmer like a magnet, the conversation from last night's encounter still fresh in his mind. It was time to see if Rin would come through on his word...

The moment the whistle blew and the swimmers dove in, they all received the second indication that something was amiss.

"He had a late start?" Makoto straightened up worriedly as he watched Rin jump in last, the other swimmers having a good head start over him. That was odd- Rin's timing was normally perfect...

"Rin can make it up on the turn." Haruka reassured, his voice certain. He had raced Rin all too many times before, and he had the utmost confidence that he would catch up as soon as the turn was made.

"No, something is definitely off now." Byakuya muttered, standing from her seat as she went to get a closer look. She gripped the railing tightly, her eyes never leaving Rin's form. He was trying hard to catch up- that much was clear; he was really pushing- but for some reason the distance between him and the other competitors only seemed to grow.

"Impossible..." Rei murmured, his violet eyes alert and his brow furrowed as he watched his rival in action. There was seriously something not right, but if the other guys from Samezuka noticed anything, they weren't showing it. They just kept cheering their team members on, their intense voices resounding throughout the stadium.

"And, turn!" The Samezuka team urged eagerly, waiting to see Matsuoka catch up, as they knew he would.

...But he didn't.

"Rin..." Haruka's eyes were wide as he watched Rin's weak spurt of speed at the turn, not believing what he was seeing. He didn't understand- what was going on?

_'...What's wrong?'_ Rei's expression was solemn as he thinned his lips, unable to look away from the struggling form of Rin Matsuoka. He had been so confident and sure of his victory yesterday... what had happened within that short period of time to cause his performance to drop this much?

"Last spurt, last spurt!" The Samezuka team wasn't giving up on their teammate yet, however- they continued to cheer him on in the hopes that he would surprise them all. However, one lone figure at the front of the stands- Mikoshiba watched with hard, yet sympathetic eyes as Rin neared the finish line. He could see just how much his underclassman was fighting just to swim properly, and he knew it was his fault. Despite his guilt, however, he knew it had to be done- the wellbeing of the whole team came first, and he just couldn't have Matsuoka holding back the others.

But that didn't stop the growing heaviness in his heart that steamed from the knowledge that he had a hand in Rin's suffering.

When Rin finally reached the wall, it wasn't a pretty picture.

"...What happened to Rin?" Makoto stared in utter disbelief at the scoreboard, watching as Rin's name was pushed all the way down to the very last place.

"Onii-chan..." Kou murmured, her expression one of pain. She couldn't stand it- to see her brother hurting so much that it had actually hindered him physically...

The boy himself seemed to be no better off. Rin surfaced immediately and yanked off his swimming accessories, heaving and panting as he tried to relieve his immense exhasution. He had never felt so tired in his life, and yet... he had still lost.

And somehow, he couldn't even bring himself to care anymore.

Matsuoka placed his hands on the poolside, trying to heave himself out of the pool along with the other swimmers. However, his attempt was feeble- pathetic, almost- and what should have been an easy task seemed like a herculean impossibility as his hand slipped and he fell back into the pool.

"No. Get up." Byakuya whispered, still in shock at what was going on. "Rin-kun. Get up, please..."

But Rin still fumbled and fell back in. Again and again he tried, all with the same results. It was an almost ironic imagery- just as he couldn't pull himself out of the pool, he couldn't lift himself out of the desperation he was drowning in.

It was terrifying. To see Rin like this, so weak and almost fragile... it physically hurt her.

Byakuya covered her hands over her mouth, tears pricking at her eyes as she stared in horror at what was happening. She couldn't stand to see him like this- Rin Matsuoka was supposed to be strong, determined, confident...

But he was still human. So painfully, inexplicably human. He felt sadness, anger, hurt... he was strong, but he was still as vulnerable as anyone else. And all of that was made obvious in that moment.

Byakuya barely registered the fact that she had turned and ran out of the spectator stands- ignoring the sudden exclamations from her teammates as she did so. In her jumbled state of mind, she barely even registered the fact that Haru had beaten her to the chase, and was a good few feet ahead of her.

All that was on her mind was getting to Rin. To get to her friend.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ...Please don't kill me for not updating in so long? *bricked anyway*. Haha, sorry you guys had to wait so long for this chapter! Picking up writing again after such a long break is... ack. Sorta like breaking past a writer's block, haha! Please forgive me for taking so long- thank you all for being patient with me and sticking around anyway. Ya'll are the best. qwq<strong>

**The next two chapters will be pretty long since I'm rounding up the story, so I hope you look forward to it, guys! Sorry it's taking so long- I really am trying to get em out as fast as I can, but... gah. All these feelings. I'll do my best to put all the emotion in the last episode into words, so until then I hope ya'll aren't sick of waiting for this fic to end, haha!**

**Thanks so much to Blue Fire Lily, MyFriendsAreMyPower, Guest (**Gah, fluff still kills me, but I'm glad you liked it! And haha, don't worry, if I ever get around to it the AU will most certainly be centred around this pairing xD),** Mazgrl98, surlie, Trickster707, Vixen of Meiraz, Mokona- Storm Guardian, Captain Americanna** (can I just say I love your username xD)** and kace** (Here's the update! Hope you like it, and thanks for the feedback! ;D**) for reviewing! Your continuous support is really what keeps me going 8'D**

**(Also, heads up- since Rin seems to be the obvious winner of the poll, that little scene with Meiko is actually sort of a lead up to the next fic I have in mind. But don't be fooled by the implication, guys- it may not go the way you think it might... ouo)**


	56. Chapter 56

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any if it's characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

A distraught Rin walked blankly through the halls of the stadium after his humiliating loss, barely keeping his emotions in check as he stormed off. However, an unfortunately oblivious individual in the form of Aiichirou Nitori kept chasing after the incensed teen, attempting to calm him down despite the intimidating aura he emitted. The hallways seemed to be empty save for the two boys- everyone else was in the stands or preparing for the races, and no one else was there to witness the scene that was about to take place.

"Senpai! Matsuoka-senpai!" Nitori panted as he caught up to Rin, who was still forging on ahead as he ignored the younger boy's pleas. In a desperate attempt to reassure his upperclassman, he grasped Rin's sleeve and halted his steps, smiling nervously as he said, "Please wait! You just happened to have a bad day! Your talent is the real deal! If you had been in better condition, you could have-"

Those were the wrong things to say.

"_Shut up!_" Rin yelled as he spun on Nitori, his lips curled into a vicious snarl. The younger boy only just managed to step out of the way as Rin brought his fist around as well, his hand colliding onto the full length glass windows lining the walls of the hallway with a loud 'thud'. The impact was loud enough that the Iwatobi quintet were immediately alert when the sound reached their ears from all the way across the long, curving hallway, all of them turning towards the source.

"That was..." Makoto trailed off, his eyes wide and alert.

"Rin-kun..."

"This way!" Rei announced, taking off down the hallway as the others followed suit. When they caught sight of what was transpiring, it wasn't a pretty situation...

"Senpai! Please calm down!" Nitori sounded far more urgent now as he held up his hands placatingly, Rin's sudden bout of anger both startling and scaring him, to an extent. "If you do that, you won't be allowed to participate in the next tournament!"

"It doesn't matter!" Rin yelled back, far past the point of caring anymore. "I don't give a damn what happens! I'm obviously no better than this! That's why I was taken off the relay!"

His muscles hurt from exertion. His head ached. But most of all, his heart felt crushed. He was tired of trying and trying, only to fail in the end. He believed each and every word that fell from his lips as he acknowledged just how useless he was, because he was through. He was done fighting what he thought to be true.

"Forget it! I quit! I'm done swimming!" He finally exclaimed in rage, spinning around and kicking over the nearest trash can with all his might. He poured his fury out through his actions, no longer caring about the consequences. As the trash can fell over and spilled its contents onto the floor, Rin simply turned away and stomped off, trying to shut out everything as his pain overtook him.

He was no more than the rubbish that lay on the floor now, anyway.

"Matsuoka-senpai!" Nitori cried out in despair, trying fervently to get his upperclassman to stop and listen one last time. But it was of no use- Rin had completely shut down now, and no one could get past the barriers that he'd erected once more.

"Nitori-kun..." The sound of a familiar voice prompted Aiichirou to turn around, and he was met with the sight of Byakuya along with the rest of her team. All of them wore similar expressions of horror and mortification on their faces as they stared after Rin, clearly in shock over what had happened.

"Shion-senpai..." Nitori trailed off, not knowing what to say. To say that the girl before him looked devastated was an understatement, but what could he say or do to console her or any of her friends? He had tried to calm Rin down, but had failed. Despite all his good intentions, he had simply not said the right things, and this was the result.

In the end, it looked like had failed to keep his promise to Byakuya after all.

But still, he wouldn't give up just yet. Instead, he turned on his heel and ran down the hall in the direction Rin had gone without another word, rushing to catch up to his redheaded friend once more as he left behind the group of friends who no longer knew what to do.

* * *

><p>Byakuya's head was spinning. It suddenly felt like a huge weight had been thrust upon her chest, and she struggled to breathe properly as she tried to grasp what had just happened. Surely it was a lie? This must be a dream- no, a nightmare. Rin wouldn't just quit, he couldn't! What happened to his dreams? What happened to the boy who had beaten Haru the last time they raced?<p>

Where was the Rin Matsuoka who had stood with her beneath the sakura tree, all those years ago?

"Haru!"

In her state of shock, Byakuya hadn't noticed that the others had been conversing all around her until she heard Makoto's voice calling out to Haruka. Turning her head slowly, she realized with even more dread that Haruka had slumped against the wall, falling into a sitting position as his legs seemed to give out on him. It was obvious that the whole situation had affected him deeply as well- heck, it seemed to have impaired him physically as well. She had never seen Haruka look this breakable before, and it scared her.

At the same time however, she couldn't blame him. What she felt towards this whole occurrence could only be a fraction of what Haruka must be feeling, at most.

"I..." Haruka's head fell into his hands, which were crossed over his bent knees. He seemed to curl in on himself- almost as if the stoic boy he normally was had vanished, and in its place now was something... fragile. "Won't get to swim with Rin again...?"

The others didn't know what to say. The words seemed to be stuck in their throats- how could they possibly console him now? The guilt weighing on Haruka must have been excruciating- if the last time Rin had declared that he wouldn't swim anymore had set Haruka back far enough that he himself had refused to swim, this time... it just seemed to leave him completely lost.

How could they tell him it wasn't his fault, when they all felt that they had played a part in Rin's downfall? That they weren't there for him enough, or that they couldn't break through to him in time... somehow, by some twisted logic, it seemed to be their fault, and they couldn't even reassure themselves that it wasn't.

What kind of teammates were they if they couldn't save one of their own?

Slowly moving towards the raven-haired boy, Byakuya knelt on the ground raised a hand, as if she meant to place it upon Haruka's shoulder. However, her palm stopped barely inches away from his shoulder as her arm suddenly froze up, refusing to obey her mind's command. No matter how much she urged it to move, it was as if some invisible force was preventing her from touching him.

But she knew it wasn't that- the only one holding her back was herself... because she was afraid. Haruka Nanase, the boy who had always been so calm; so steady and headstrong... was practically on his knees now, his head bowed in defeat. She couldn't touch him- _wouldn't_ touch him. If she did... she didn't know what would happen.

There was nothing she could say or do, because she was scared she would make things worse, like she had when she confronted Rin.

At first, Byakuya didn't realize what the sudden feeling of warmth trailing down her face was. In her numb state, she barely noticed as she raised her hand outstretched hand to her face, only to find that a light dampness coated her fingers as drew her her hand back. That was strange... she was crying.

Why was she crying?

What right did she have to cry? She wasn't the one who had lived with guilt over something she had unintentionally done to a friend. She wasn't the one who was faced with so much doubt about the very thing she loved most in the world, because it was tearing both her friendship and herself apart. She was just a petty bystander, who couldn't even begin to comprehend the pain of what the ones experiencing such desolation firsthand were.

If anyone should be crying, it was Haruka. And she couldn't even reach out to comfort him- just as her words couldn't reach Rin.

Her arm dropped and hung limply by her side as she stared uncomprehendingly past the tears that clouded her vision. She couldn't understand- why? Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't they have stopped this?

Why... couldn't she ever save the people she loved?

"What now?" Nagisa's voice asked desperately as he was, for once, at a complete loss. His magenta eyes sought out the emerald ones of his captain desperately, hoping to find some sort of comfort and guidance from him. "The relay prelims are about to start!"

"We should focus on our own races right now." Makoto tried asserting some form of control of the situation, but his weak protest was shot down by Nagisa when the blonde retorted.

"But look at Haru-chan!"

"Haru..." Look, indeed. Makoto could only stare miserably at his best friend who had curled in on himself, barely even paying attention to what was going on. All those walls they had managed to tear down over the course of their journey seemed to be rising back up again, and it seemed like there was nothing they could do. Even Byakuya looked completely devastated, and as much as Makoto wanted to reach out to his companions... he knew it wouldn't be of any use. The situation seemed hopeless.

"...I have something to tell everyone."

Until Rei spoke up.

"Rei-chan?" Nagisa questioned, turning towards the bluenette who had suddenly spoken up after his long silence. There was a firm, unshakable resolve in Ryugazaki's violet eyes, as if he had made up his mind.

"Last night, Rin-san called me out to talk." The very first sentence he uttered was enough to stun the whole group, and what he continued to say only served to shock them further. "He told me that when he said he wanted to quit swimming in middle school, it wasn't because he lost to Haruka-senpai. He hit a wall while he was training abroad, and his confidence was shaken. That's why he wanted to quit swimming."

It wasn't Haruka's fault? The implication of that was enough to make Byakuya raise her head towards the bespectacled boy, hope filling her heart. Then that would mean...

"But after returning to Japan, running onto Haruka-senpai once again, and racing him... he could put it behind him. When he saw us swim at prefecturals, he remembered what it was like, and wanted to swim in a relay again." This time, Haruka was the one who slowly raised his head, the full impact of this revelation hitting him at full force. "That's why he said he'd swim with Samezuka- to give us the best relay ever."

For a few moments, everyone remained silent, as they were all too stunned to speak. To think that all their perceptions and guesses were wrong all this while... it changed everything. It revealed so much behind all the complications and decisions Rin had made, as if the shroud hiding the truth from their sight had finally been lifted. It was more than just a revelation to them- it was a relief; a comfort.

"...I never realized Rin-chan felt that way." Nagisa murmured, still in shock over what had been said.

"But that's not what he really wants." Rei continued, drawing more perplexed glances from his friends. His expression softened as he spoke, but his words didn't lose their assurance and determination. "He didn't care about the race. He just wanted to swim with all of you again... to swim with the best teammates he could ever have."

"How do you know that?" Haruka finally asked as he got to his feet again, unable to hold back the question. Why would Rei contradict what Rin himself had said? What made him so sure of himself?

"Because..." A warm smile crossed Rei's face, and Byakuya knew what the answer would be even before he said it... because it was how she herself felt, all the time.

"I feel the same way he does. I want to swim in a relay with all of you you- with the best teammates I could ever ask for."

It was short and simple, yet it held so much emotion and depth to it that the warmth it carried resonated within them. Rei, who had only just joined the team and had initially been so skeptical, was telling them he wanted to swim with them. From the boy who had detested swimming, he was now one of them- and he longed to stay with his team through all that they had to face.

That in itself carried more weight more than anything else.

"I'm sure you feel the same way, Haruka-senpai!" Rei cried, directing his statement at the raven-haired teen, whose eyes were wide in surprise. The bluenette's voice was laden with emotion, determined to get his point across. "The race isn't important- there's someone you want to swim with, right?!"

His words struck a chord within Haruka, brining down once and for all the walls that had nearly been built up again. It gave him his resolve back- the will to fight again for what he wanted, and to reach out the hand he had never held out before. He was reminded of what he truly wanted once more, and he was not going to let it slip by.

"I want to swim with Rin." He stated firmly, his voice strong once again. His response seemed to please Rei, whose smile widened before his expression became serious once again.

"If you don't do something, Rin-san will quit swimming." He spoke in a rush. "You're the only ones who can help him!"

"But what are we supposed to do?" Makoto asked in confusion. What options did they possibly have?

"You still don't understand?!" Rei exclaimed, shooting them a look. "Logically speaking, there's only one possible solution!"

Immediately understanding what he was implying, Byakuya couldn't help but stare at Rei in wide-eyed disbelief. Surely, after all that he said, he wouldn't really be willing to...

"But Rei-kun, that would mean you have to sit out!" She blurted out, unable to hold back the shock in her tone.

"I know." Rei replied evenly, not even sounding the least bit fazed. The others still looked unsure about this sudden decision however, and looked increasingly conflicted at the notion. This was the only way, but was it right? Could they really subject Rei to this?

"Rei, are you really okay with that?" Haruka looked the underclassman in the eye, trying to find any hint of doubt in his expression.

He found none.

Instead, Rei just smirked proudly like he had back when they had first met, adjusting his glasses in his usual exaggerated fashion. He was still the Rei that they all knew, and as he answered in a strong, determined voice, they knew that his mind was set.

"Of course!"

* * *

><p>"He's not here!" Haruka announced, sounding almost frantic as he emerged from the locker rooms without having caught sight of Rin anywhere.<p>

"We're supposed to report in soon!" Nagisa glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, his expression one of concern. If they didn't find Rin soon, it would mean an automatic disqualification...

"How will we find him in time?"

"Leave it to me." Byakuya's voice suddenly piped up, and they all turned to see the only girl of their group wearing a solemn expression on her face. "I have an idea. You guys focus on finding Rin-kun- I'll buy you time!"

"Alright." Makoto nodded confidently, not questioning what she had in mind- he trusted that she would be able to do the right thing. He then turned back to the others, issuing the next command without hesitation. "Let's split up and look!"

"Got it!"

* * *

><p>"No luck! Can't find them anywhere!"<p>

Coach Sasabe's announcement sent another wave of distress through the others gathered in the stands, and they all exchanged nervous looks as they puzzled over what to do now. They had hoped that the coach would have been able to find the missing members of their team after he'd gone after them, but it looked like even that had gone down the drain.

"The medley relay swimmers are supposed to report in soon!" Miss Amakata's youthful features were twisted into one of mortification- could all her students' hard work have been for nothing? "They'll be disqualified!"

"No way!" Kou sounded just as panicked as everyone else, her heart rate picking up at the thought. Would they really risk getting themselves disqualified after all they had done to get here? Why...

But before she could ponder that question for long, she let out a yelp as the stadium suddenly went dark- the lights had gone out. The entire audience as well as the competitors who had been preparing themselves for their race down by the poolside seemed to echo her confusion, the murmurings growing louder and louder as everyone glanced around in confusion. The only light that was supplied now was the sunlight streaming in from the windows on the roof, and even then it wasn't much.

"The power went out?" Hanamura muttered in utter disbelief. Talk about an unexpected turn of events...

"For real?"

Amidst all the chatter in the stands, Kou had her eyes fixed on the people running around down by the pool area- clearly, the people in charge were struggling to deal with this sudden event. One of the guys then shouted over the noise towards his companion at the other side of the pool, his words ringing clear and loud.

"H-hey! We need to get the system back up and running! Someone- go fix this mess!"

"On it!"

"Good thing their times are recorded manually, too," Sasabe rubbed his chin as he sympathized with the predicament the people running the systems would be experiencing. "Or else that would've caused quite the stirrup."

"But how could there be a power trip in the middle of a competition?" Amakata then mused thoughtfully, her brow furrowed in consternation as she voiced the question. "There's no lightning storm, and I don't think the power stations would cut off the electricity without warning the stadium officials..."

"Could someone have tampered with the wiring?" Chigusa wondered. Though her theory was far-fetched and close to impossible, the implication made Kou gasp, her eyes widening as a thought occurred to her. It was a wild, unlikely thought, but still...

"They wouldn't have..."

* * *

><p>Frantic footsteps echoed throughout the mostly empty hallways as Byakuya dashed through the crowd, her eyes seeking out the directions plastered onto the wall that would bring her to her destination. The girl had shed her Iwatobi jacket to hide it behind the bench next to the changing rooms, and was only clad in the thin singlet over her swimsuit. But for once, she didn't mind the state of her current attire- she needed a more conspicuous appearance if she planned to go unidentified long enough. If she recalled correctly, she had to make a turn at the junction right before the big signboard with the Pocket Sweat advertisement on it...<p>

Following her instinct, Byakuya made the turn and nearly cheered in joy when she saw that her memory had served her right. She was right where she wanted to be- in front of the doors of the electrical closet that powered the stadium.

"Gotta work fast..." she muttered to herself as she reached behind her head and yanked out one of the pins keeping her hair secured in place, breaking it into two as she remembered the way her brother had taught her how to pick locks as a backup in case she locked herself out of her house. Byakuya thanked her lucky stars that she had so much free time when she was younger- she had practised picking the locks of her house so many times she could have done it blindfolded.

As soon as she successfully moved the pins within the mechanism of the lock out of the way and slid it open, she yanked open the electric closet. Upon seeing the scores and scores of switches, wires and circuit breakers lining the distribution board, she very nearly had a panic attack. However, she didn't have time for worry- she had to find the main breaker. Her eyes quickly scanned all the electrical components within the mishmash of wires and switches- where was it... there! Quickly locating the main circuit breaker, Byakuya carefully reached for it, making sure to keep clear of other electrical components as she flipped off the switch. Despite her frantic pace and rushed actions, she made sure that she didn't accidentally touch components inside the service panel at all- getting electrocuted wasn't on her schedule today, after all.

The lights went out almost immediately, and Byakuya nearly gave a whoop of victory - but that would have given her away, so she instead settled on blinking a few times to readjust her vision to the sudden shift in brightness. Thankfully, the daylight shining in from the windows was still enough for her to maintain a good portion of her sight, so it was enough. She then flipped off all the other switches as well, just for good measure.

'_It'll take a while for them to get everything up and running again_.' She thought to herself victoriously as she closed the door and clicked the padlock shut, a smirk gracing her features. '_Until then- good luck, guys_.'

"Hey!" A man's voice cried out in alarm, and Byakuya spun her head around to see a man in a guard's uniform at the end of the hallway, pointing directly at her. "What are you doing?!"

Oh crap.

It was time to put these running legs to good use, then.

* * *

><p>Haruka's breathing was heavy as he forced his feet to carry him as quickly as possible towards his intended location. He and the others had been searching high and low for Rin, but he had been nowhere around the stadium. The place Haruka was headed to now was quite a ways away from the main event, but he had a hunch about this place- if he knew Rin as well as he thought he did, then this would be the place he would come to if he needed solace...<p>

When he saw the red-haired figure standing beneath the sakura tree he and his friends had seen earlier, his guess was proved right. Slowing himself to halt, Haruka braced himself mentally and physically as Rin turned his head towards him, having sensed an intrusion into his personal space. Upon seeing the sapphire-eyed boy, Rin's own crimson ones widened briefly, before he caught himself and his blood began to boil as he was reminded once more of his shameful loss earlier.

"Haru." Rin greeted with a scoff, his eyes narrowing into slits as he glared at the boy before him. Oh, how he hated him at this moment- he, who seemed to have everything he wanted but could never have. "Why are you here? Come to laugh at my pathetic loss?

"Rin..." Haruka hesitated, his brow furrowed in worry. Rin didn't seem quite right- he was never this self deprecating. He was always so confident, and though he could even be called smug at certain times... this was far worse.

"You saw what happened in the free. And I was taken off the relay." Rin mocked, spreading his arms wide as he egged him on. He didn't give a care anymore- he was pathetic, so why bother fighting it? He might as well embrace the facts! "The world is laughing at me, so join in! No need to pity me!"

Haruka didn't comply to his request, instead he was quiet for a moment, completely thrown off by the way Rin was acting. He had expected cockiness, stubbornness... but not this open self deprecation from Rin, of all people.

Unfortunately, his silence only added to Rin's growing rage.

"I told you to laugh!" Rin growled ferociously, his voice rising in anger. "That's all I'm good for, anyway! I'm not even good enough to race you guys in a relay!"

"Calm down, Rin-"

"Shut up!" Rin was close to snapping at how Haruka seemed to be so earnest- it was insulting to him, and to his pride. To be given this pity from his rival only proved how far he had fallen. "What would you know?!"

"I know," Haruka insisted, his fists clenching at his sides in determination. He poured all of his heart into his words, hoping that his desperate tone would get Rin to listen. "How fun it is to swim with friends. How good it feels to swim in a relay together. You were the one who taught me that, Rin!" With each sentence that he spoke, Haruka took note of the way Rin's eyes continued to narrow, and the way the white-knuckled fists he held by his side began to tremble, but he kept on going anyway. "You're the reason I-"

"_Shut up_!"

Haruka didn't even get a chance to blink before Rin suddenly rushed at him, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him forward. The boy's voice was more than just incensed- it was also desperate, as if he couldn't take listening to him anymore. But for once, Haruka wasn't going to comply. He was going to push forward without waiting for allowance- he had no other choice. If they didn't reach Rin now, they would only lose him forever. The time for holding back was over.

"I understand now!" Haruka cried frantically, trying to reason with Rin in the midst of his wild rage. He needed to reach Rin now- he had already run away so many times before, but he wasn't ever going to do it again. His friend needed him now more than ever, and he would do anything and everything to save him. "I found my answer! Why it is I swim! _Who_ I swim for!"

"I told you to shut up!" Rin was adamant about shutting out the words that left Haruka's mouth, his fist flying forth as he prepared to unleash even more violence in his attempt at beating back his own confusion. Each word that left Haruka's lips were like another stab or blow to his already fragile state of mind, and he had to silence him somehow before he broke. He didn't want to hear those words from Haruka, of all people- how he had been the one to change the world in his eyes, and yet he himself had been unable to receive that peace. However, Haruka was just as fast this time as he saw it coming, dodging the blow and grabbing his wrist as it flew past him.

The momentum of Rin's punch was too much, however, and as a result both teens went tumbling to the ground. But the tussle didn't end there- Rin attempted to hold down Haruka as he pressed his weight down upon the boy, but the raven-haired boy wasn't willing to give in, either. It was a battle of physical strength as the two rolled over the ground, both trying to gain the upper hand on the other as they fought for control of the situation. However, Rin- not only more physically fit than Haruka, but also fuelled by his desperation- managed to win the battle, and it seemed as though he'd won as he pinned down Haruka once more, his fist raising again as he prepared to finish what he'd failed to do earlier...

But something caught his eye, and it stopped him in his tracks completely.

Three simple words were scrawled into the dirt in front of the sakura tree- something he had not noticed earlier. Though it could have easily been brushed off as nothing, Rin could only stare in disbelief at what he read- the motto he had once lived by.

'_For The Team.'_

"This tree looks like the sakura tree that was in the school yard." Haruka piped up softly as he followed Rin's line of sight, his voice low and soothing as he spoke. "Isn't that why you were here?"

There was nothing but silence between the two boys- one as he waited for his friend to snap back to reality, and the other to finally realize what he had lost. It was a brief moment, and barely lasted a few seconds, but that was all Rin needed to finally break.

He just couldn't stand it anymore.

His grip on Haruka's collar tightened, but this time it was not out of spite. The latter's blue eyes then widened slightly when he suddenly felt a dampness on his cheek- they were Rin's tears as they fell from his eyes, his tightly wound defences and walls finally breaking down as he acknowledged what he really felt all this time.

"Why?" Rin begged, his voice thick as the tears he'd held back for so long streamed freely down his face. He didn't care if he looked and sounded like a child- he couldn't fight it anymore. He was too worn down by refusing to acknowledge what he truly wanted, and now he was just tired. He didn't care that he sounded like some helpless kid- he needed to say what he had to before it destroyed him. His voice was weak and shaky, his vulnerability finally showing through the cracks in his facade of strength. "Why can't I be free? I want to swim with you guys. I want to swim in a relay with you guys."

On any other occasion, Haruka would have attempted to console Rin. He would have tried to assure him that it was all alright- that they all didn't care for the mistakes he'd made, and that they were willing to help him no matter what. But instead, the boy's lips curved into a small smile as he stared at the redhead's crying face, his heart finally at ease as he registered only one thought.

The romantic crybaby was back. And Haruka just let him cry his heart out, not stopping him from letting out every sadness, every hurt that he'd had to fight alone.

They could only move on from the towards the future after they'd let go of the burdens from their past.

Eventually, Rin's tears flowed to a halt, the boy finally getting a hold of himself after his moment of weakness. He slowly released Haruka as he shifted his weight back onto his legs, shifting onto his knees as he muttered sadly, "But now it's too late."

"No." Haruka's reply prompted Rin to look up, seeing the resolve in his blue eyes as he sat up. "It's not too late. Let's go, Rin!"

The crimson-eyed boy was confused. What did he mean by that? Rin was already out of the relay, and Haruka was supposed to be swimming with his team now. How did his statement make any sense? But before he could ask, he was interrupted by a voice calling out...

"Oh, there they are!"

"Rin-chan!"

Turning around in surprise, Rin was stumped to see three familiar figures rushing towards him and Haruka, all clad in the Iwatobi sports jacket. Pushing himself to his feet, Rin could only stare at the three boys smiling before him- two of whom had been his among his closest friends as children.

"You guys..." Before Rin could ask any questions however, a sigh from Rei Ryugazaki drew everyone's attention, and they all turned towards the bluenette who was shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Honestly, watching you irritates me so much." He sighed- albeit dramatically- and looked Rin in the eye. Despite his tone, he wanted to make sure the real meaning behind his words would be conveyed- he was giving up a lot for his team, and he was determined to make sure Rin would not let him down. "If you want to swim, just go ahead."

If Rin was shocked before, now he was just speechless. After all that he'd said and done, they were still so willing to help him? He barely even knew Ryugazaki, for crying out loud! Why was he making this sacrifice for him? Why...

What had he ever done to deserve such wonderful friends?

"Rin, let's go." Haruka spoke up unexpectedly, having risen to his feet as well. Turning towards the raven-haired boy who Rin had considered his closest friend and his greatest enemy, his eyes widened as he saw him holding out his hand, an expression of serenity and calm as he spoke.

"It's my turn to show you..."

And as Haruka stood there beneath the sakura tree with his hand outstretched to him, Rin was reminded once more of that promise they had made so many years ago- a promise that he was now receiving in return. It was time, then- the wheel had turned a full circle, and now it was his turn to see...

"A sight you've never seen before."

* * *

><p>Throughout the duration of the boys' touching reunion, Byakuya Shion was having an entirely different experience- one that cleared her mind and made her very sure of a few things.<p>

One, she officially hated running.

Two, she hated her poor fitness for making her short of breath so easily.

And most of all, she hated the guy who had chased her all through the stadium before he'd finally given up and returned to the electrical closet and complete the damned job he was supposed to do in the first place instead of chasing some stupid teenager. Said stupid teenager being her, of course. The only reason she'd been able to shake him off was the fact that she'd run behind a corner and hid there for a while as he passed by- a lot of the credit went to the dark-haired guy who had initially been standing around the bend as well. He had remained surprisingly silent as Byakuya ducked past him and crouched behind the bench near the wall, waiting for the guard to rush by. In fact, the guy had actually shifted his position slightly to shield her from view- something she was immensely grateful for.

"Thanks." She had panted out when the coast was clear, her tone sincere as she addressed the tall, ebony-haired boy before her. He'd looked like he possessed a swimmer's build, but he hadn't been wearing any sports jacket that signified where he was from. In reply, the boy had just tipped his head, his turquoise eyes alert, yet hard to read as he walked away without a single word.

By the time Byakuya finally retrieved her jacket, the electricity was on again and she was drenched in her own sweat. She was also flushed from the heat, and quite simply put she wasn't in a good mood. However, the more pressing concerns of the day had her running- ugh- back to the spectator stands once more, eager to see if her distraction had proved worthwhile. According to her watch, the first heat of the men's medley relay was supposed to have started ten minutes ago, so she could only hope that her little stunt had managed to buy them that much time.

As she burst through the door and into the stands, Byakuya wanted to cry with relief. They were only just announcing the start if the medley relay, which meant that all her efforts hadn't been wasted after all. Moving quickly, Byakuya rushed to the seats where the Miss Amakata and the others were, who all looked rather surprised to see her.

"Are they back yet?!" The girl asked quickly, her eyes already scanning the swimmers who were lining up by the poolside. Her heart sank when she saw that she didn't recognize any faces- how could they still not be here?

"Byakuya-chan!" Kou cried, her expression distressed as she noted the frantic manner in which the older girl glanced around. "The others aren't with you?"

"No, I thought they were already down there!"

"Why are you sweating so much?" Hanamura piped up suddenly, her green eyes confused as she watched the second-year. Suddenly having her current state pointed out like that, Byakuya was instantly aware of the weakness in her legs, and she all but collapsed onto the seat behind her. Her sudden actions seemed to spread even more concern among the others, and she shook her head quickly as she reassured them.

"I'm fine. Just... ran away from the cops."

"What?!"

"Kidding, kidding." Sort of.

"Where could the others be?" Coach Sasabe huffed impatiently, glancing back at his watch. "They have to be here soon, or they'll get disqualified! There's already been a delay!"

"You wouldn't have had something to do with that, would you?" Kou's eyes narrowed as she stared accusingly at the girl, who shifted a little nervously in her seat.

"Well..."

A sound of surprise from Miss Amakata saved Byakuya before she had to respond, and the teacher was pointing eagerly at something down by the poolside as she announced eagerly, "They're here!"

Indeed, they were. Byakuya shakily got to her feet, her expression lighting up instantly as she saw the four boys running up to the man taking down the attendance of the participants. She couldn't help but emit a bark of laughter in relief- thank goodness, they'd made it!

"It looks like they made it in time!"

"What a relief..."

As the others heaved a sigh of relief, Byakuya's eyes lingered on Rei, who was standing with the others as their attendance was noted. In the midst of all the ongoing action, she noticed another familiar figure who was trailing a ways behind them, taking advantage of the small loophole in the authorities' attention as he slipped past and into the line. The girl very nearly broke into a grin when she recognized the strands of red hair that were just barely noticeable beneath the swimmer's cap, but she smothered it and settled for a small smile instead. So, they'd actually managed to talk him into it, even after all that had happened...

Reaching into her pocket, Byakuya's fingers brushed against the small charms she'd stored within it, her heart suddenly feeling a hundred times lighter than ever before. Perhaps it was too soon to say, and maybe she was even being too hopeful... but something in her gut told her that this time, Rin was here to stay.

* * *

><p>By the time the second heat of the relay rolled around, Makoto was admittedly more antsy than he would have liked. Though he wore a brave front and looked serious and confident- at least, he hoped that was what he looked like- several doubts still lingered in his mind. Rin was going to switch places with Rei when he made the turn, and they had to make the transition flawless. He had to draw enough attention away from the group to make it conspicuous, and it was making him nervous.<p>

As he pulled his goggles over his head with his thought running amok, Makoto risked a glance towards the stands, where he knew Coach Sasabe and the others were. When he caught sight of a familiar face framed by dark hair, whose brown eyes he would have been able to pick out in any crowd, his nerves were seemingly put at ease as he caught Byakuya's eye.

She was here.

_'You're not perfect, Mako- and you can't be. But if you ask me... that only makes you all the more wonderful.'_

And that was enough for his doubts to be cleared away.

"Makoto!"

"Makoto-senpai!"

"You can do this, Orca!"

The cheers from his friends and teachers brought a small smile to Makoto's face as he approached the poolside, before a serious expression overtook his features once more. He lowered himself into the pool as he accustomed himself to the temperature of the water, before turning around and grasping the handles, positioning his feet properly against the wall in the proper position in preparation for the signal. Before the announcer told them to get ready, he glanced one last time back at his teammates, who were all depending on him to do the best he could.

He was their captain- it was only right that he was the first to clear the way for them.

The moment the 'go' was given, Makoto's timing was perfect as he dove into the water, putting all his strength into his strokes.

"Go, Makoto!"

The cheers of his friends seemed to fade as he pulled through the water, fighting to gain a good lead on the other competitors. It wasn't easy- he could tell they were good by the way the water moved all around him, and he could feel them keeping pace with him. It was hard to pull through the water- for something that looked so calm and peaceful, it was a fearsome foe. It could surround him and pull him into the depths as it choked the air out of him, just like that fisherman he had met so long ago...

As his thoughts began to go down a significantly darker road, Makoto began to feel a lump of panic rising in his chest. However, just as he did so, a memory surfaced and pushed it all away, like a radiant light that was as clear as a bright blue sky.

_'This is...'_

The memory of his friends as they stood beneath the ocean of stars, unafraid and enduring despite all that they had been through, and the way they had all swum through the ocean without fear to return to their campsite. The waters had been so calm and peaceful then, and for once... he hadn't been afraid of it.

Because as long as he had the others, there was nothing to be afraid of.

The thought brought a smile to his face, and when the time came for him to make the turn, he pushed off the wall with all his strength. It was as if he had received a huge push as his strokes became faster, stronger. It was a rough and hardly sophisticated way to swim, but it worked for him- like a great sea creature that swam through the waters, his unorthodox style carried its own charm as it pulled him all the way to the finish.

And before he knew it, the baton was passed to the next person who held their fate in their hands.

*~.*.~*

Nagisa was ready as he saw Makoto approaching the wall, and his lithe muscles tensed in preparation to leap after him. One, two, three...

_Now_.

"Nagisa!"

Before Makoto could call his name as he surfaced, Nagisa had already dove in. The blonde grimaced internally as he noted that he'd jumped a little too far from the starting block- he'd always put too much power into his entry, and in the heat of things he'd forgotten to pace himself. He began to worry- what if this mistake would cost him and everyone else the race? What if his fear had come true, and he'd messed it up for them all? What if...

_'It's all thanks to you.'_

Before his thoughts could be plagued further by the deprecating possibilities, Nagisa remembered what Haruka had told him, just yesterday. He had thanked him for being the one to start this club- for giving them the push that started this whole journey.

"Go, Iwatobi Penguin!"

Was that Byakuya, cheering for him? It made sense, seeing as she was the only one who ever called him that. Penguin, huh...

Confused by the sudden warmth he was feeling, a vision seemed to emerge in his mind's eye. All of a sudden, it was as if he were no longer a swimmer swimming in a pool- he felt more nimble and strong as he shot through the water, like the penguin he had been nicknamed after. And all around him, a group of other figures seemed to emerge- a dolphin, an orca, a shark, a turtle, and a butterfly. It was an odd sight, perhaps... but to Nagisa, it made all the sense he needed.

,A grin worked its way onto Nagisa's face as he watched each of them overtaking him, swimming ahead into the unknown without fear. Wait, what was he doing? He shouldn't fall behind- he was the one who had started it all, right? He had to keep up if he meant for it to stay that way!

_'Wait for me! I'm coming!'_

_*~.*.~*_

As Nagisa suddenly picked up a sudden spurt of energy and flew ahead of the other competitors, the Iwatobi supporters in the stands were ecstatic. They were all on their feet as the excitement prompted them to stand up, unable to contain their eagerness.

"They're in third place, ahead of top schools!"

"Amazing!"

"That's a personal best!"

"Rei's up next." Coach Sasabe nodded approvingly as Nagisa made the turn perfectly, turning his head to look back at the starting block. Everyone else followed his gaze to get a look at the blue-haired butterfly swimmer getting into the starting position...

Only to blanch when they realized he wasn't there at all. Instead, a very familiar redhead, who they were all very sure was not from their school at all, was in his place.

"WHAT?!" They all blurted out, unable to contain their shock. Similarly, over on the Samezuka side, that same ripple of surprise had overcome them as well.

"Matsuoka-senpai?!" Nitori couldn't help but gape. He'd thought that he'd already left the stadium after he'd lost track of him- he was still here? Swimming with the Iwatobi team?!

"What is he doing?!" Seijuurou muttered, his eyes wide. He had expected many things from Matsuoka, but this was something he'd never even considered! Everyone was completely dumbfounded.

Byakuya on the other hand had no such reservations.

"Own 'em, Rin-kun!" She hollered as Nagisa touched the wall, signalling that it was his time to go. For someone who hadn't trained with this particular team for the relay, Rin's dive was flawless- getting just the right amount of distance and power as he dove into the flowing water.

"I told them to be free, but they went too far!" Sasabe hissed, rubbing his hand over his face in disbelief. These youngsters were way too impulsive...

"His entry angle was five degrees off, but I suppose it will do."

If they were surprised before, the sudden input from the bespectacled boy that seemingly popped into existence right next to them gave them a shock equivalent to a heart attack.

"Excellent timing, Rei-kun." Byakuya greeted with a grin, raising her hand for a high five which the younger boy returned calmly.

"What are you doing here?!" Sasabe exclaimed, his minds reeling from both confusion and exasperation. Did these youngsters take some sort of joy from giving him such a huge headache?

"I'll explain everything later. We need to cheer them on now." Rei assured, before he shot Kou a pointed look, knowing she would get his message. Now wasn't the tine for questions- it was a time of celebration, to rejoice over the return of the friend and brother they'd thought they had lost. "Gou-san."

In response, Kou's expression morphed into one of understanding as she gave a confident smile, turning back towards the race as she took the lead.

"Uh huh!" She then grabbed the megaphone from Coach Sasabe- who made a disgruntled sound, but didn't try to take it back- and held it up to her lips as she lead the cheer for her beloved brother.

"Go, Rin!"

*~.*.~*

Rin was determined to win. His torso lifted out of the water as his arms propelled him forward, and he gasped for air while he maintained the rhythmic pattern of his kick. The butterfly stroke required the most upper body strength and was the hardest to master, yet it was Rin's forte. It only testified to how much effort he had put into training to master it, and yet he still knew he could- had to- do better. The other competitors were just as good as he was, but this was the last chance to gain more ground for his team before the final leg! He had to do his best to give Haru a good start when he swam the the last lap...

"Swim, Rin!"

Kou?

His sister was cheering him on again, for the second time that day. Only this time, Rin felt and knew that he was doing better- his emotional state was strengthened, and it was all thanks to a bunch of guys who just wouldn't give up on him. They were all idiots for it, really, but if he was honest... he was glad. Glad that they hadn't stopped trying even though he'd tried so hard to push then away. If not for them, he wouldn't have been able to feel this strong, and he wouldn't have gotten this second chance to regain his spirit once more. But most of all, he would not have gotten to make his sister truly proud of him. Even if he lost here, at least he would be able to look his sister in the eye, and he would be able to see his mom without feeling like he had failed her. And his dad...

He would have been proud to see him, too. That was the clarity that he'd gotten the last time he'd swam with the others, and he was seeing it again now, only a thousand times brighter. The light at the end of the tunnel was no longer leading him into a nightmare- it was leading him towards his dream, his future.

And for the first time in a very, very long time... Rin allowed himself to smile.

This truly was a sight he'd never seen before- and it was the best he would ever see.

*~.*.~*

Rin's turn was strong, as he'd expected- in fact, it was even more effective than it normally was. Haruka observed this with a feeling of pride and relief- so, Rin was back to normal again. That was all he'd wanted...

But his role wasn't over yet. As he readied himself to follow up after Rin, Haruka focused his attention on one thing, and one thing only- the water. It was calling to him, like a siren to a sailor at sea. Pulling at his mind, taunting him into fulfilling his desire to jump in...

But unlike all the other times, there were also other things on Haru's mind besides the need to swim. This time... he had a purpose.

He didn't have to see it to know that Rin had touched the wall. He just knew he had somehow, like an instinct that had been integrated into his mind, and he was off the diving block before Rin had even emerged. Haruka went in with a flawless dive- one that was effortless and looked so natural that it left everyone staring after him with bated breath at the sheer beauty of his form.

The first thing he registered when he hit the water was the cold, which was easily brushed aside as he began to swim. Arms and legs moving in synchronized movements, his speed was enough for him to overtake several of the other swimmers easily. It was difficult to keep it up, however- the water still slowed his movements with its resistance, trying to force out the intruder that dared to enter the sanctuary it provided. It would be so easy to lose himself in the serenity he felt whenever he swam- to just let the water guide him as he went with the flow...

But he couldn't do that now. Because he was fighting for something more important than his own selfish desires.

"Haru!"

Makoto- the sefless, kind, and strong person who had remained by his side through it all.

"Haru-chan!"

Nagisa, whose brightness and good intentions had been the driving force behind all their actions.

"Haruka-senpai!"

Rei, the stoic, hardworking boy who had tried harder than anyone else to make it this far, and yet he'd still been willing to give it all up to allow them the chance to make things right.

"Haru-kun!" "Haruka-senpai!"

Byakuya and Kou- not members of their relay, yet teammates who had worked just as hard for everyone's sake all the same.

And most of all...

"Haru!"

Rin, who had suffered so much and had tried to be too strong, yet stood here now- as strong and proud as he'd once been.

Haruka had to do this. He wasn't swimming for himself anymore. He wasn't even swimming for the sake of it, or just to feel the water. No, he was swimming for something even more precious- something that meant more than the world to him.

His friends. His team.

The buzzer sounded as Haruka touched the wall and surfaced from the water, signalling the end of the race. And in bright, glowing letters on the scoreboard, the name 'Iwatobi High School' was in first place.

They had won.

* * *

><p>The cheers that rose from the stadium following the results of the race were insanely loud- Byakuya could barely hear herself speaking over the uproar. However, no words were needed to express her joy- she simply settled for a smile as she watched her friend down by the poolside, all hugging each other and some even crying in joy at their victory. This was what they had all fought so hard for- this one moment of happiness and joy, after all the pain they'd had to go through. The journey had been harsh and had beaten them down with all its hardships, but they'd all grown somehow through the experience. In the end, all their blood and tears had really had been worth it- because they had performed far beyond anyone's expectations as the team that had finally been brought back together.<p>

"You guys..." Despite all the excited chatter around her, Byakuya only just caught the words that left Rei's mouth, and she turned to see the boy staring at his friends with a wistful, yet peaceful smile on his face. "Truly are beautiful."

Upon hearing his words, Byakuya could only agree with him. She could sense his relief and joy at everything that had happened, even though he hadn't gotten to swim with the others. He was content enough this way- it was worth the sacrifice he had made if his teammates were happy.

Before she coukd stop herself, Byakuya had spun Rei around and pulled him into a huge hug, earning a small, strangled yelp of surprise from the boy. Even so, she just held him close without any qualms, laughter bubbling from her lips as she embraced the blue-haired boy who had saved the day with his selfless act.

"You're a hero, Rei." She told him sincerely, her eyes shining with joy as she hugged him tighter. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Though he had been surprised at first, Byakuya felt Rei eventually relax upon her words of genuine gratitude, enough that he even returned the hug- though with noticeably less intensity. "It was no trouble, senpai." He said truthfully, "I did it for them."

"You give yourself too little credit." Byakuya chuckled again, releasing him from her hold as she glanced back at their teammates, crouched in a huddle as they threw their arms around each other and laughed gaily.

It was wonderful. Just being able to see them together like this again... it was enough for her.

"Senpai?!"

For the second time that day, it took Byakuya a few seconds to realize that tears were flowing down her cheeks without warning, even after Rei's shocked exclamation. The girl whipped her face from side to side as she spun around, smacking her face as she told herself to pull it together.

"Not again..." She muttered, though her voice laced with amusement. "Ugh. I'm such a baby."

"Are you crying, Byakuya-chan?" Kou observed with surprise, hopping closer to get a better look at the suddenly sensitive upperclassman.

"I'm not!"

"Then you're just sweating through your eyes?"

"I..." Unable to find a proper justification for her sudden mood swing, Byakuya turned towards Rei and pointed at him accusingly. "This is your fault!"

"How is it my fault?!" Rei exclaimed.

"You influenced me with all your cheesy beautification habits!"

"What?!"

"Stop being such a girl, Byakuya-chan." Kou jested, nudging her shoulder teasingly. It was about time she got to tease the older girl back.

"I'm trying, okay? I'm trying!"

"Heyyyy! Everyone!" The sudden shout drew everyone's attention to the enthusiastic blonde hopping up and down by the poolside, waving his arms eagerly at the Iwatobi gathering as he hollered, "Come on! We have to take a picture!"

"What?" Kou turned towards her teacher and Coach Sasabe nervously, "Is that really alright?"

"Nothing in the rules says you can't once the race is over." Sasabe shrugged, deciding to be a little more lenient for once. He didn't want to impede their joy now, after all.

"Well then," Byakuya wasted no time in grabbing both Rei and Kou's hands, shooting them a bright, cocky grin that would have put even Nagisa to shame. "Let's go!"

And as they raced through the halls in their rush to reunite with their friends once more, Byakuya's smile never left her lips. In fact, it only brightened as she saw her friends- her beautiful, loving friends- holding out their arms to her as they welcomed her with joy. When she caught sight of Rin wearing that wonderful smile that had been lost for so long, she had to stop herself from crying again right on the spot as she hugged him tightly.

It had been a long, tedious journey to get this far. But at last, everyone was home.

"Welcome back, Rin-kun." She whispered gratefully, feeling nearly giddy with happiness at everything that had transpired. In response, Rin's smile softened as he replied simply..

"Yeah. It's been too long."

* * *

><p>As much as Byakuya wanted to bundle up everything and go out with her friends to celebrate- their victory was considered invalid since they had another school's member in their race anyway- it wasn't over yet. There was still one more event to go- her own- and though she knew she would probably be recognized for her earlier stunt with the wiring, no amount of pleading on her part had convinced Coach Sasabe and Miss Amakata to let her drop out.<p>

In Byakuya's mind, she concluded that this was probably divine retribution for every bad deed she had done thus far, and for years to come. She would be lucky if her legs didn't fall off halfway through her race after all that running...

"Will you be alright, senpai?" Rei inquired cautiously as he and the others watched as the second-year glared at the door to the girls' changing room, looking as if she was willing a hole to burn through the door... or to set the whole building on fire so she wouldn't have to swim. It seemed as though her good mood from earlier had vanished.

"Don't worry about it." Byakuya sighed and waved her hand at her friends dismissively. "Just go be my personal cheerleaders, okay?"

Might as well get it over with, she concluded as she reached for the handle. However, before she could make a move to step into the changing room, a tap on her shoulder caught her attention. Turning around to inquire what it was they needed her attention for, she was silenced when a nervous Makoto suddenly pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, before backing up quickly and almost ramming into the others- who, might she add, looked far too entertained at the whole scene.

"G-good luck." He stuttered out, rubbing his face with a hand as he tried to force down his blush. "I believe in you."

Oh for the love of-

He really had to stop doing that. His own awkwardness was making her feel weird, too.

"You're such a cheeseball." Byakuya attempted a scoff, which came out sounding way more high-pitched than she would have liked.

"Hey, hey." Nagisa piped up, shaking his head like a mother lecturing her children. "Save it for later, geez. You guys already had the hotel room all to yourselves last night."

"What?!" Apparently, this was news to both Kou and Rin, who spun around to gape at the two teens with stricken looks on their faces.

"Wow." Rin recovered first, barely able to hold back his laughter as he smirked at the boy, who was looking redder and redder by the second. "I didn't think you were that kind of guy, Makoto."

"H-hey!" Byakuya piped up in both her defence and Makoto's, taking a step forth as if to place herself between them instinctively. "That's not what we-"

"That's enough." Haruka chimed in, sounding exasperated with the childish antics his friends were getting into. He then shot Byakuya a firm look, making sure she got the message. "Remember what you have to do."

"...I know." The girl sighed as she straightened up, shooting him a grateful smile for his intervention. "Thanks, Haru-kun. I'll see all of you later, then."

"You betcha!" Nagisa added cheerfully as they all began to head back to the stands, seeing as the time for her race was drawing nearer. "You can do this, Bya-kun! You owe me lunch too, by the way!"

"I know, I know." The girl called back in exasperation, though her lips quirked into a smile. That boy was going to run her bankrupt one of these days...

"Oi, Byakuya."

Another unexpected call stopped Byakuya in her tracks once more as she turned around curiously, wondering what else they could possibly have to say. Rin had lingered behind everyone else as he seemed to hesitate for a moment, unsure of what to do. However, after he regained his composure, he just reached into his pocket and drew something out, tossing it towards her as he announced, "Catch."

It was small, Byakuya noticed immediately when she caught the small item, and the shape of it felt extremely familiar in her hands. Her eyes wide with surprise, Byakuya stared at the red Omamori charm sitting in her open palm, the one her mother had made for Rin. Wordlessly, the girl stared up at Rin- how had he...

"Show them what you're made of, alright?" He told her, his voice confident and a small smile resting on his lips. That was all it took to take another load off Byakuya's chest- the guilt that had weighed her down since the confrontation she'd had with Rin at the festival. As she closed her fingers around the trinket in her hand, it sealed the deal between the two of them- a sign of forgiveness and acceptance as they agreed to start over once more. No grudges, and no bitterness- this time, neither of them would lose their way again.

"You bet!"

* * *

><p>Anxiety crept into Byakuya's heart as she stretched her arms by the poolside, readying herself as she stood before the starting block. In just a few minutes- no, seconds- she would have to pull this off all on her own. Though she knew she couldn't really win this race anymore due to her knowledge that she would be disqualified later, it didn't help to calm her down...<p>

"Heyyyy! Turtle!"

Was that...?

Completely thrown off-guard by the sudden, familiar voice calling out to her, Byakuya's head snapped up as she looked around frantically at the stands, trying to locate the source of the voice. After a few more seconds of the voice's owner callig out to her, the girl was frozen in shock as she saw a head of auburn hair amidst the crowd. Aoi Shion was standing there, waving at her with one hand as the other cupped around his mouth, hollering at her so loudly she probably would have heard him from China.

"Have fun, alright?"

Those words seemed to give her the strength she needed as her lips curved into a smirk, her chocolate eyes twinkling with confidence. She nodded once towards her older brother, shooting him a thumbs-up before the announcer told the swimmers to get ready. Filled with a newfound conviction to win now that she knew her brother was here for her, Byakuya pulled on her goggled and adjusted her swim cap as she stepped onto the block with assertiveness. Commanding herself to focus, the girl followed the instructions of the announcer as she got into the pool and grabbed the handle bars, positioning her feet against the wall and urging herself not to worry about the competition.

_'Breathe.'_

"Set..."

_'You've got this.'_

The whistle blew and Byakuya dove backwards into the water without a moment to spare, accepting its cooling embrace.

The first thing she registered was how impaired her sight was, even with her head out of the water as she performed the backstroke. She could hardly see or hear anything through the splashing water- focusing completely on the rhythmic movement of her arms and legs wasn't helping much, either. The burn of her muscles weren't intense, but it was slowly building up- she could feel it. No, not now- not when she still had so much distance to go! She had to be careful how thinly she spread her energy and stamina- too much exertion now would lead to a slow conclusion, but if she didn't speed up now, she would lose ground! She could feel her opponents catching up from the way the water splashed around her- the person in the next lane was even matching her pace! The moment she changed to the breaststroke, she felt the person in the next lane overtake her, and the distance between herself and the others were closing, too.

_'This could be bad...'_ Byakuya ground her teeth as she made the turn, unwilling to let up. She couldn't lose now- not when she was so close! She had to make up for it in the free leg- there wasn't much she could do to speed up her butterfly. Her muscles were beginning to feel sore from the build up of lactic acid- if she got a cramp now, she could kiss her victory goodbye. Was this it...?

"Almost there, Byaku-chan!"

...Makoto?

In the midst of her desperation, Byakuya felt an immense sense of calm- all at the mere sound of his voice. He, who could calm her when she was at her angriest and console her at her most miserable. The one she fought the hardest for- who could spur the strongest emotions within her.

"Bya-kun, fight on!"

"Senpai, hang in there!"

"Swim!"

Those were the voices of her underclassmen- her friends; her teammates. The ones who looked to her for guidance, because she was their senpai. Just as she had taught and guided, so too had she learned so much from them. Nagisa, Rei, Kou...

"Don't give up!"

Was that Haruka cheering for her? Quiet, stoic Haru? Surely this was a dream...

No, it wasn't. Haruka had always supported her, even if he hadn't done it grandly or expressed it. He was always leading her forth subtly, letting her take the step on her own. Only now, he was pushing her to move forward- to give it her all without holding back.

"Byakuya! Go!"

Rin... he was here. Rin, who had struggled through so much without anyone there to help. Rin, who had experienced so much hurt from the dreams he thought he had lost. Rin, who had strayed so far... only for then to pull him home before he could lose himself.

And he wasn't losing faith in her.

The image of the Omamori charms gifted to her by all of them flashed in her mind once more, the message on the front of each one resounding in her mind...

_'Have fun!'_

Not if she didn't put up a fight until the very end, she wouldn't.

Suddenly, the dark waters were bright, her vision completely clear as she pulled herself through the waters. Her aching limbs felt stronger than ever, numb to the ache that previously lingered in them. Her fatigue faded away, replaced with a fresh burst of energy that spurred her to swim faster, stronger. She felt herself overtaking her opponents one by one, each one losing out to the sudden burst of speed spurred on by her newfound resolve. The distance between her and the wall grew closer and closer, until she was a mere 15 feet away... 10 feet away... just an arm's length...

_'This is for you- all of you.'_

The buzzer went off. And when she emerged, her eyes sought out the scoreboard immediately, her heart pounding in her chest as she read the name at the very top...

Byakuya Shion.

She'd made it.

But this time, her time and rank didn't actually mean anything to her. And as Byakuya turned towards her friends in the stand, her eyes were swimming with tears as she raised her fist in victory. For once, she had fought for someone besides herself. She had simply embraced the emotions that came with swimming, instead of focusing simply on victory and proving her worth. It was the first time she'd truly had fun doing what she loved.

But most of all... she finally understood what it was that the others saw- the sight she thought she'd never see firsthand. The shackles and weights she had placed on herself, the expectations and gruelling goals she had set... they were all cast aside the moment her eyes were opened by the people who loved and trusted her unconditionally and unwaveringly. It was their faith that lead her to the finish line, that gave her the real strength that she needed.

And it set her free.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Bless! We have reached the semi final chapter of this long, draggy story, haha! About time, ay? Ya'll are probably rejoicing now too, haha!<strong>

**Speaking of rejoicing, that's exactly what I did when fellow fanfiction writer Mazgrl98 told me that she created fanart for this story (okay I may have fangirled a little too, haha)! Her art skills are amazing, guys- even the first draft she sent me looked great, and this final product is even more so! I can't express just how touched I am by the effort she put into this- if you're reading this, Mazgrl98, YOU KNOW ILU OKAY. You guys can check it out at the link in my profile!**

**And of course, cyber cookies go out to Guest1995 (**ahhh thank you for the compliment! I'm so glad to hear that you think so highly of this fic, even though it's not one of my best works qwq**), Blue Fire Lily, surlie, MyFriendsAreMyPower, and TheBloodyArrow for reviewing, and everyone else who favourited and/or followed this story! Thank you so much for all of your support, you guys- it's really what kept me going this far. The last chapter of GATG will be uploaded next (when, I cannot guarantee), and I do hope you all stick around to bid this story farewell, too. Once again, thank you all for sticking with me for so long, and I'll see you next water time ;)**


	57. Chapter 57

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free or any of its characters. Everything belongs to Kyoto Animation. I only own the OC.**

"Okay, so," Miss Amakata's stern voice made all of the five teens squirm as they stood outside of the grand stadium, the events of the day having finally ended. Right after Byakuya's race, the Iwatobi group had been called out on by the people in charge of the event- with two offences under their belt, it wasn't a very pleasant lecture to receive. "After that emotional performance, you were all disqualified."

"Naturally." Sasabe scoffed, shaking his head at the five youngsters who had taken part in the whole fiasco. His disapproving voice only made them fidget even more uncomfortably as they meekly accepted their second lecture of the day.

"It wasn't easy to endure the staff members scolding us." Miho continued as she glowered at her students, none of whom dared to meet her eye. Kou stood off to the side with the rest of those who had come to cheer the team on as she eyed her teammates sympathetically. Though she felt for them, she remained silent- there was no way she was going to risk having Miss Amakata turn on her just to save them from their punishment. "They've never had anyone swim in a relay for another school."

"We're very sorry." The five of them chorused, bowing lowly before their teacher to try and placate her anger. In all honesty, they were just relieved their little stunt hadn't gotten them forbidden from ever participating in future events. It had been quite a close call...

"And you, Shion-chan." Miss Amakata then turned on the girl in question, who flinched slightly at being addressed so sharply. Then again, she knew she deserved it. "Interfering with the electrical supply? What were you thinking?"

"It was foolish and reckless." Byakuya responded firmly, her serious tone drawing curious side glances from her other teammates as well as everyone else present. The girl deepened her bow, not a single snarky remark or even a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I fully acknowledge my wrongdoing, even if I believe it was for the right cause."

To have Byakuya, of all people standing before them, admitting her faults and apologizing for it with the utmost respect for her higher-ups was stupefying. For a moment, neither of the two adults were quite sure how they were to respond to this, exchanging furtive glances with each other as they conveyed an unspoken message between each other. After a moment's contemplation, their expressions eventually softened as they smiled somewhat exasperatedly at their students- it was alright to spare them a bit of mercy, after all they'd already been through a lot that day.

"Well, it's alright." Miss Amakata sighed, her words prompting the teens to straighten up as they glanced at her hopefully. "Young people get to do crazy things."

"But why did you pull those stunts in the first place?" Goro asked, wanting to hear the reasoning for everything that had happened that afternoon. Running around, messing with stadium property and breaking the rules... it was just so unlike them to do something so rebellious.

This time, it was the teammates' turn to exchange looks with each other, all of them wearing secretive smiles as they knew just what they were all thinking. They didn't have to elaborate on the details- this was something only they could fully understand; a precious gift that was theirs alone.

"Because," Rei's smile broadened as he met his coach's eye, his pride for his team evident in his mannerisms. "It was only right."

"Yep!" Nagisa was quick to follow up, beaming brightly as he continued, "We may be on different teams..."

"And we may run into trouble sometimes," Byakuya added, her voice filled with a mixture of amusement and finality.

"But we're still..." Makoto glanced at Haruka, allowing him to finish the sentence with the one word that had been their motivation from the very start...

"Teammates." Nanase finished strongly, his ocean-blue eyes shining with confidence.

"...What does that mean?" Miss Amakata blinked, not understanding what that had all meant. In fact, no one aside from those five themselves seemed to get what they were saying...

"It means," A new voice, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, suddenly piped up, and they all turned to see a familiar auburn-haired man walking right up to the group and towards Byakuya, who paled at the sight of her brother's grinning face. Her fear was rightly placed, given that the bespectacled young man grabbed her ear and yanked on it, earning a pained grunt from Byakuya and nervous glances from everyone else. "That I'm going to have to give my baby sister a really long lecture about messing with electrical appliances and safety violations."

Here, Aoi's expression seemed to darken as his grin turned into something more poisonous, and they all said a quiet prayer for the younger Shion sibling as they bid her a quick and painless fate. "Now, if you would all excuse us."

And as Aoi dragged his sister away unceremoniously, the others could only stare after the two siblings with blank expressions on their faces. Watching as Byakuya tried to free herself from her brother's grasp unsuccessfully, while Aoi continued smiling as he walked on uncaringly, only one thought came to mind...

"...Bya-kun is dead meat." Nagisa muttered under his breath.

That about summed it up.

*~.*.~*

Aoi stared out at the scenery of the city that was bathed in the a golden glow, courtesy of the setting sun that lit up the sky with shades of red as far as the eye could see. His arms were crossed as he stared out into the distance, his expression solemn yet wistful. Next to him, Byakuya stared at the ground and fidgeted nervously, unsure of why he had dragged her here and then suddenly fell silent. When the quiet atmosphere became too much for her to bear, she attempted to speak up as she called out to her brother.

"Aniki, I'm sor-"

"Mom would have loved to see how well you did out there today." Aoi interrupted, surprising his younger sister with his gentle voice. Laying a hand on her head, the young man smiled at Byakuya as he tousled her hair, his grey eyes shining with pride. "You did great, Turtle."

His words touched Byakuya's heart deeply, and the girl could only offer shoot him a sincere yet watery smile before she was pulled into a hug. She hugged her brother close and cherished his embrace- even if the world were falling apart, she would always feel safe in her brother's arms.

To make him proud of her... was more than she could have ever asked for.

"Thank you." She whispered. And though her voice was soft and barely audible, she knew that her words- not just meant for her brother, but also for her wonderful teammates- were something that they all already knew.

* * *

><p>On the other side of the stadium, Rin was facing the very same lecture from his own team as he stood at attention, his captain staring him down with a stern expression on his face. He accepted his scolding with a neutral front, not reacting in any way as he acknowledged the misconduct he had aided in and the stain it had left on Samezuka's name as a result.<p>

"I'm very sorry." He apologized sincerely as he bowed before his teammates. "I will take responsibility for my actions. Please kick me off the swim team.

"Matsuoka-senpai..." Nitori watched on anxiously from behind his team captain, his expression conflicted. While he wanted to stand up for his friend and defend him, there was no denying that he had done something against the rules. There was also the issue of Nitori not being to stop him, too...

"Nitori," Rin suddenly addressed the younger boy, who started at being called. The redhead's expression was apologetic as he lowered his head, sheepishly saying, "Sorry for yelling at you."

"You don't have to worry about that!" Nitori waved off his apology quickly, not willing to blame the upperclassman for his bad mood. "And anyway, we can't kick you off-"

"I won't accept that!" Nitori's sentence was cut off abruptly when Seijuurou spoke up, his voice firm as he levelled his gaze at Rin. Matsuoka had to stop himself from gulping as he observed his captain's fierce expression, dreading what he was going to say. However, the words that next left his mouth left Rin dumbfounded...

"I have a better way for you to own up to your actions. Swim the way you just did for our team."

"Captain..." Rin was at a loss for words as he stared at his grinning captain, whose sudden announcement was something he hadn't expected at all. He couldn't quite wrap his head around it- he... wasn't getting kicked off the team even after all he had done? Mikoshiba didn't bother to clarify anything as he continued smiling mysteriously, turning around and calling out to the rest of the team to move out. Nitori looked just as befuddled as well, but it didn't matter- whatever it was that had made the captain want to keep Rin on the team, he was grateful for it.

"Nitori." Rin suddenly called out again, and this time Nitori actually jumped slightly when he spun around to face his redheaded upperclassman. Rin was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, looking somewhat awkward as he corrected, "Uhm... Ai. Practice with me again, starting tomorrow."

Whatever confusion Nitori felt quickly turned into elation at those words- the acknowledgement of the person he respected most causing his chest to swell with joy. The boy's pale blue eyes shone with excitement as he nodded his head eagerly at Rin- the person he could now truly call and think of as his friend.

"Yes, Rin-senpai!" He said joyously, and Rin smiled crookedly back in response. There really was no excuse for the way he'd acted towards Nitori, and while he appreciated that the boy was giving him another chance, it made him feel ashamed for ever mistreating him in the first place. He had a long way to go to make up for that, but he sure as hell was going to try.

"Come on- we'd better catch up." Rin nodded towards the rest of the team, who were already several metres ahead of them. The boy then confidently lead the way as he strode towards the group in long, quick strides...

...And nearly walked right into a brunette clad in a blue and gold tracksuit.

"Ah, sorry!" The girl apologized immediately before Rin could even try to do so first. However, when he attempted to assure her that it was of no consequence, the words died on his lips when he saw her face- it was the same girl he had run into just before his 100m freestyle race.

"You again?" A blonde standing next to the girl bristled when she saw him- Rin recognized her as one of the brunette's friends from earlier, and boy did she look miffed. "You were the one who snapped at our captain!"

It was then that Rin's eyes widened in horror as he finally recognized the uniform the girl- along with a whole bunch of other female athletes following behind her- was wearing. The logo on the front and back of the tracksuit jackets was that of Kingyo, one of the best swimming schools in the country.

He was so screwed.

"You're Kingyo's captain?!" He blurted out, suddenly feeling rather meek before the short-haired brunette who blinked owlishly at him. He practically tumbled over his words as he tried to piece together an apology, bowing before her in remorse. "I-I'm sorry for earlier."

"You should be-"

"It's fine. No hard feelings." The girl- captain, Rin reminded himself- interjected before her blonde friend could finish, earning surprised glances from both her companion and Rin himself. The redhead was taken aback to see a grin lighting up the captain's face- was that smile meant for him? "Good job out there in the relay, by the way. Keep it up- you've got what it takes to make it big."

"Uh..." Rin sputtered, struggling to comprehend the fact that he'd just been complimented by one of the best female swimmers in the region. This time, it was his turn to blink at her slowly, barely able to formulate a reply of, "Sure. Thanks."

If she thought his tongue-tied state was strange, she certainly didn't say anything about it, even though her friend looked incredulous at how quickly she had brushed off his earlier lack of respect. Instead, the brunette simply looked back at her teammates, hollering out a command of, "Let's go, girls! Gotta make it back before dinnertime!"

And then, she turned back towards Rin with a slightly softer smile than before, her dark eyes meeting his crimson ones. "See you around." She waved at him, before she walked on ahead with the rest of her team following after her. Rin had to blink after her a few times, his thoughts in a mess as he tried to think of a response when it was far too late.

"See you, uh..." It was only after she'd walked off that Rin realized he didn't even know the girl's name, but before he could attempt to call after her- which would have been hugely embarrassing, so in a way he was grateful- Seijuurou suddenly appeared by his side, stopping him by throwing an arm around his shoulders and grabbing him in a headlock.

"Oi, oi." Mikoshiba taunted as the redheaded boy was jerked back with a strangled gasp. The captain then smirked at Rin as he hauled him along, despite Nitori's weak attempts at trying to get him to release the second-year. "Keep walking, Matsuoka. That one's way outta your league."

"O-Okay, okay!" Rin sputtered out, nearly gasping for air due to the captain's arm cutting off his air supply. But again, despite Nitori's insistence that the captain should release the redhead, freeing himself was a futile attempt.

That wasn't the first time Rin ran into Meiko Aikawa, but it also wouldn't be the last.

* * *

><p><em>'The water is alive.<em>

_Once you dive in, it will immediately bare its fangs and attack. But there's nothing to fear._

_Do not resist the water. Thrust your fingers into the surface, and carve an opening. Then you slide your body through that opening, moving your arms, your head, your chest-'_

"Yahoo!"

Haruka was promptly startled out of his concentration as Nagisa suddenly canonballed into the water, the loud splash and rippling of the pool disturbing Haruka's synchronization. It could have been worse, he supposed- he could have ended up like Byakuya, whom the blonde had landed upon when he hadn't seen her swimming by.

Or had he?

"Nagisa Hazuki, you get your ass back here right now!" Byakuya spluttered as she yanked off her swimming cap and goggles, shoving them aside as she glared furiously at the boy, who grinned back cheekily at her from a safe distance.

"Can't catch me!" He taunted as he dove under the water once more, intentionally trying to provoke the girl. It worked.

"When I get my hands on you..." Byakuya growled as she dove under as well, propelling herself forward at an alarming speed- Haruka could actually hear Nagisa's strangled sound of surprise from beneath the water's surface. While all this was quite the interesting sight, Nanase wasn't amused.

"They disrupted my pace." He grumbled, sounding somewhat miffed. Right as he'd gotten into the rhythm of things, too...

"Well, you know what they're like." Makoto chuckled good-naturedly as they watched Rei attempt to soothe Byakuya into releasing her hold on the blonde first-year. Maybe it wasn't the most healthy relationship those two had going on, but it seemed to work for them.

"Oi, you kids!" A sudden shout drew everyone's attention for a moment, and they started upon seeing Coach Sasabe in his pizza delivery uniform standing outside the fence that separated the pool from the road. He didn't look too pleased, either. "Take your training more seriously! Don't think you can slack off just because I'm not training you anymore!"

"Of course, coach!" Makoto called back reassuringly, sheepishly scratching his cheek at having his team being caught in such a disorderly fashion.

"B-Byakuya-senpai, I think you should-"

"Stay out of this, Rei-kun."

"Senpai, he's turning blue!"

Makoto sighed, tilting his head back and staring at the sky for a moment- Why him?- before making his way over to where Byakuya was wringing Nagisa's neck viciously. He really had to find a way to convince Nagisa to stop provoking her before she actually killed the boy someday. These guys really enjoyed causing chaos...

But it was alright. It was a good kind of chaos.

* * *

><p>Blue eyes wandered to the shelves lining the wall of the swimming club's storeroom, the expression beneath the pools of sapphire contemplative as Haruka held the picture frame in his hands. He wondered if it was really alright to leave this here- there was a perfect spot for it right in the centre of their individual cupboards, but still...<p>

His contemplation was settled for him when the picture frame was abruptly taken out of his hands, and he turned around quickly to face the person who had intruded when he was so deep in thought. Playful chestnut irises met his azure ones easily as Byakuya glanced from the picture back to him, before she walked over to the cupboards he'd been eyeing earlier, placing the frame right in the centre, as he'd envisioned. Behind the glass, a picture of Haruka and all his teammates beamed brightly back at him- reminiscent of the one they had all taken as kids. They'd all even taken up the same positions as their last photo, and while there was no trophy, they had Rei as an addition to their little group picture as he smiled happily at the camera- that in itself was even more valuable than a simple trophy.

"It belongs here." Byakuya beamed as she appraised the picture frame sitting upon the cabinet, her eyes shining with warmth and pride. The picture would serve to remind them just why they swam as they did- to make sure they never forgot where it all began anew. Haruka just fixed his gaze upon the picture for a moment longer, memorizing each of their happy faces that had been caught in that joyous moment.

And then he allowed his lips to curve upwards without reservations.

"Yes. It does."

They were a team, and nothing would ever change that. Not the passage of time, nor the pains of life... nothing. Their bond was one that couldn't be severed by even the sharpest blade or the harshest storm- even if a thousand miles stood between them, their spirits and their dreams would still be able to reach one another.

And in the end, that was all there was to it.

* * *

><p>"...So you see, everything's finally settled down. We're all back together again, and things are better than they've ever been before." Byakuya finished her story with a smile as she sat on the grass before her mother's tombstone, idly adjusting the fresh bouquet she had laid before the granite headstone. Returning her hands to her lap, in which sat all the Omamori charms her friends had given her, Byakuya's smile turned wistful as she glanced up at the small frame in which Mikasa's picture sat, her own smile reflecting the one she herself wore.<p>

"As for me..." Byakuya gave a small laugh, her fingers lightly brushing against the glass of the frame as she continued, "I'll always wish you were still here. That you could still take me out to go shopping, or nag at me to study, or give me advice on boys..." She had to pause for a moment, the image of her mother still being there to do all of those things making her choke up just a little. However, she recovered with much more ease than she used to as she continued, "But no matter what it is, I'll keep moving on."

Clutching the charms which now hung on a keyring, Byakuya smiled down at them as she read the motto she had been raised by- two simple words, yet they conveyed so much to her. To have fun and to enjoy what she did with her life- that was the key to happiness.

"I've found my way at last, mom. I finally understand what it means to be free."

She had been young, she'd been foolish, and she'd made mistakes- so, so many mistakes. But none of that mattered anymore. She didn't need to keep regretting all that she'd done and all that she'd failed to do- she could only keep moving forth, and keep in mind what her failures had taught her. The past was in the past, and it was time to let go.

"Thank you for bringing this world to me. I'm happy to swim- happier than I've been in a long time." Here, Byakuya beamed at her mom's photo with a confidence she had never really possessed until then, her brown eyes reflecting her newfound strength. "I'm glad to call you my mom."

That was all she'd ever really needed to say as she accepted herself for who she was. A daughter, a friend, a partner- she was all of those things and more, and it was only right that she learned to embrace all of the people who gave her the significance that shaped her into the person she was. And as she bid her mother farewell and headed to the entrance of the cemetery, Byakuya realized that for the first time since her mom's passing... she wasn't afraid of what lay beyond the gates anymore. It was the first time she'd been able to truly smile as she visited her mother's resting place without hiding anything, and without any regrets.

It felt wonderful. It felt like freedom.

As she neared the exit, Byakuya pushed open the gate and took a deep breath, preparing herself to face the day that awaited her. However, just before she stepped out of the cemetery grounds, a breeze blew by, brushing aside her dark tresses from her face. The girl smiled for a moment as she enjoyed the wind's cooling embrace, before a strangely familiar, soft and whispery voice reached her ears...

"I'm proud of you, my daughter."

The girl started and spun around immediately, her eyes scanning the area intently to search for the source of the voice. However, there was no one there- the only sound being the rustling of the grass and leaves as the wind blew by.

Even then, Byakuya just smiled.

"Thanks, mom." She replied, the gentle smile on her face never faltering.

Then she turned away again and exited the cemetery, closing the gate behind her without turning back. She was moving forth with no hesitations or restrictions- the shadows that once haunted her had disappeared as they were chased away by the light she had found, bright and clear and strong. Her past had no more control over her.

She was Byakuya Shion, and there was no longer any need for her to look back. Only forward.

* * *

><p>"No, no, no." Kou's voice crackled through the speakers of the laptop sitting on the desk in Makoto's room, the screen displaying an image of the girl shaking her head disapprovingly. "Say it slower- you're making a confession, not reciting a tongue twister."<p>

"But if I slow down, I'll start getting nervous!" Makoto responded frantically, his nerves already frayed from the mere idea of what he was to do tomorrow...

"Makoto, calm down." Haruka's calm voice interjected from his side of the screen as well, his expression patient. He, along with his teammates plus Rin and Kou had arranged this video call to discuss a very important, dire matter that required all of their teamwork- the progress of Makoto's love life. Needless to say, Byakuya was excluded from their little hosting for obvious reasons.

"That's easy for you to say, Haru..." The olive-haired boy sighed. For once, his best friend's words were doing little to ease his mind.

"Senpai," Rei advised solemnly, the screen depicting him adjusting his glasses as he sat at his computer. "You have to maintain your composure if you want Byakuya-senpai to take you seriously."

"But how do I do that?"

"You could try to pretend you're talking to a regular person instead of Byakuya-senpai, Tachibana-san." A new voice suggested, and Makoto nearly jumped out of his seat at the unexpected newcomer. Nitori was peeking in from the side of Rin's screen as he hovered over the redhead's shoulder, adding his two cents to the conversation.

"Ai has a point." Rin hummed thoughtfully. The others murmured in agreement as well, completely oblivious to Makoto's dismay.

"He's listening in, too?" He wanted to hide his face and never emerge. It was bad enough that his friends had to arrange this intervention, but for another guy he barely knew at all to be added into the equation...

"We share a dorm, for crying out loud." Rin shrugged. "Besides, you need all the help you can get."

"You _are_ pretty hopeless at the moment, Makoto-senpai." Kou agreed apologetically. "Sorry."

"M-maybe I'm not ready for this yet." Makoto felt his panic rising again, his inner voice berating him for even considering the idea of confronting Byakuya once and for all. Heck, what if she wouldn't want to start a relationship so soon after everything that had happened? Sure, his initial excuse for not telling her earlier had been because of the drama that had been going on... but still! "Maybe I should give it more time and-"

"Stop that, Mako-chan!" The sound of Nagisa slamming his hands on the table and the screeching of his chair legs as he shot up from his seat reverberated through the speakers, earning a wince from Makoto and everyone else. However, the blonde's expression was peeved as he stared straight into the camera, almost as if he were looking Makoto right in the eye as he continued, "Enough delaying! You're obsessed with Bya-kun, so just admit it already!"

"I-I'm not obsessed!" Makoto defended weakly. He couldn't even have fooled himself with such a feeble lie, let alone the others.

"Do you really want to risk putting this off, Mako-chan?" Nagisa rambled on, as if Makoto hadn't even spoken up in the first place. His intense glare was so strong that not only Mako, but everyone else was instinctively leaning away from their screens. "What if you and Bya-kun go separate ways after graduation? What if she finds a new man when she's got no commitment to you? Do you really want that to happen, Mako-chan? Do you?!"

"O-of course not!"

"Then start practising!" Nagisa huffed triumphantly as he saw newfound resolve spark to life in Makoto's eyes, before he rounded on the others once more. It was time to take advantage of his resolution while it lasted. "Rin-chan, you'll be playing Bya-kun this time!"

"Why do I have to do it?!"

"Because you're the most intimidating."

"Shut up, Haru."

* * *

><p>Byakuya mouthed the words to a song she was replaying in her head as she arranged the items on the shelves of the storeroom, making space to store their new equipment as they disposed of the old ones. The swim club had officially been granted more sponsors from the school, and they'd managed to bring in some new resources- owed in part to the involvement of the Iwatobi Swim Club's honorary members from Samezuka, as well. Despite not making it to regionals, the swim club had still made a name for itself as the members proved their worth, thus leading to the willingness of the school authorities to toss them a bone. Rin and Nitori had even stopped by that Sunday to help them get some stuff ready for their joint practice session the following week- this time, the Samezuka swimmers would be playing on their turf.<p>

"Kou-chan, any space on your side for the rest of the items?" Byakuya called out to her friend who was assisting her with the shelves on the other side of the room. However, when she didn't get a response the girl turned around curiously, only to see her redheaded partner staring blankly at what looked like some sort of booklet in her hands. "Kou-chan?"

"Byakuya-chan, can you come over here for a minute?" The first-year requested slowly, as if she could hardly piece the words together. Byakuya complied easily, and when she got a better glimpse of the item in the younger girl's hands, her eyes widened infinitesimally. It wasn't a booklet- it was a magazine depicting a young woman clad in a bikini on the cover. And if her eyes weren't deceiving her, the model looked a lot like...

"Is that...?!"

"Amakata-sensei." Kou confirmed, sounding just as confounded as she was. The two girls shared a look of wide-eyed realization, the full implication of what this magazine revealed slowly sinking in. "So that means the rumours really were tr-"

"Bya-kun, we need your help for a moment!" Nagisa's voice suddenly chirped as he entered the storage rooms again, carrying a huge box. Rei, Nitori and Rin were following behind him, also carrying boxes of various new equipment. In that same moment, Kou all but yanked the magazine out of sight and threw it into the farthest, darkest corner of the room from behind her back- smart girl.

"Really, aren't you guys supposed to be big and strong? You need help from little ol' me to help you move things?" Byakuya teased as the 'threat' was out of the way, though she still struggled to wrap her head around it all.

"It's nothing like that!" Nagisa pouted indignantly. "We wouldn't even be doing this if-"

But before he could continue, the other three boys dropped their boxes immediately and clamped their hands around the blonde's mouth, muffling his words. Byakuya just raised an eyebrow- something wasn't right...

"Byakuya-senpai!" Rei said quickly. "Please ignore Nagisa-kun- he's just too shy to admit he needs help!"

"That's right! S-so, could you please lend us a hand?" Nitori added just as quickly.

"Oh...kay?" Byakuya said uncertainly. They were acting really weird; especially Rin- she highly doubted he was normally all smiles and sunshine like he was now.

"Great! Just head on down then!" Rin announced far too enthusiastically as he literally shoved her out into the hallway.

The dark-haired girl was perplexed, but just shrugged and went on her way. Might as well get it done with even if her buddies had been acting highly strange. Byakuya shrugged internally- boys were weird...

"Right, so what do you guys need help with?" She asked as she opened the door to the men's locker room, where they'd placed most of the items to be transported due to the lack of space in the tiny storage room. However, the girl paused as she realized that both Makoto and Haruka were just standing in there, both empty handed and their surroundings relatively box-less. They certainly didn't look like they needed help with transporting more stuff, andd when she had entered, they both glanced up with startled expressions- it looked like they had been having a pretty serious conversation before she'd interrupted.

"Uhm..." Byakuya paused hesitantly. "Should I wait before I-"

"No. You're just in time." Haruka cut in, smiling slightly. Was it just her, or did he look sort of... smug? Next to him, Makoto was stoically looking the other way, seeming to have developed a deep interest in the wall on the other side of the room.

Byakuya was even more confused now. What was she 'just in time' for?

"I'll leave you to it." Haruka nodded towards Makoto calmly as he walked towards the exit. As he passed Byakuya, he also did her the favour of giving her a not-so-slight push towards the olive-haired boy.

"What-"

Haruka just shut the door behind him and ignored her.

"...The hell?"

"Byaku-chan. " Makoto's voice suddenly called out, gaining her attention. She turned back towards the boy who had finally decided to tear his eyes away from the opposite wall to face her. His face was flushed, and he seemed to be finding it very difficult to meet her eye.

"Mako, what's going on?" She asked slowly. This all seemed too coincidental... was this planned?

"Uh," Makoto gulped, sheepishly rubbing his head. "Haru is... helping out. The others, too." He said slowly.

"Helping out with what?" Byakuya inquired.

"I... " Makoto hesitated, glancing up at her as he prepared to get to the point. However, upon meeting her inquisitive brown eyes, all his carefully thought out plans just went into disarray. "They didn't really do this on purpose, alright? Well, they did, but that was because they wanted to give me a hand. Not that I planned this either! They sort of arranged it, but it's not their fault! Okay, maybe it is, but-"

"Makoto." Byakuya interrupted, stopping his tirade. "Breathe."

"R-right." Makoto said, taking a deep breath and trying to calm down. This had sounded a lot less stressful when Haru and the others were breaking it down for him. After all that rehearsing, he thought he'd be less nervous for the actual thing...

"Okay. Now what is it?" Byakuya suggested, sounding somewhat concerned now. However, when Makoto's expression suddenly steeled itself and he met her gaze with determination, she found her breath catching unintentionally. What on earth-

"I like you, Byakuya!" Makoto exclaimed loudly, his face flushing crimson as he realized his confession had come out more violently than intended- it was a good thing they were alone. "Can we start seeing each other?"

For a long moment, Byakuya didn't reply- she just stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes. This in turn set off Makoto's nerves again, all his bravado fron earlier draining out as he started spewing out his thoughts in a jumbled mess.

"I know, you're surprised. So am I, really! I never intended to fall in love with- I mean, start liking you!" Makoto corrected quickly, his face looking more and more like a ripe pomegranate with each second. "But after everything that's happened, I just had to put it out there now so that you wouldn't misunder-"

He didn't get to finish, because just then Byakuya cupped her hands on either side of his face, standing on her tiptoes and pulling him forth until their lips crashed together.

Well, that wasn't something he had been expecting either- not that he was complaining. He leaned into the kiss just as passionately, all his nerves from earlier vanishing completely.

Wow, this felt good.

"You talk too much." Byakuya murmured as she released him, breaking the embrace long enough for them to catch their breaths. Her eyes gleamed with an almost mischievous twinkle when she saw his blushing face, feeling an immense sense of satisfaction at taking him by surprise. "Please take care of me from now on."

Makoto couldn't even respond properly- his head was still spinning too much. "Uhm... okay."

"Did that kiss kill your brain cells?" Byakuya raised a playful eyebrow, clearly amused his ditzy state. Makoto just laughed awkwardly in response, scratching his cheek in embarrassment.

"So... does that mean I can officially go out with you now?" He asked hopefully.

Byakuya just rolled her eyes at his ridiculous question, a small smile tugging at her lips as she wrapped her arms around the tall boy. Lying her head against his chest, she gave a sigh as she mumbled out, "Just shut up already, Mako. You're ruining the moment."

Makoto obediently snapped his mouth shut- heeding her advice to stop blurting senseless ramblings- but a smile slowly graced his lips as he put his arms around her and held her close. There was no need for comfort or support in this embrace unlike all the previous times- this was simply the two of them, and the need to convey their affection in ways words couldn't quite express. The emerald-eyes boy hesitantly nuzzled his face against Byakuya's dark hair, a hand lingering on her back as he shut his eyes and simply enjoyed her presence there with him. There was something foreign about finally having her in such an intimate way, but at the same time it was also familiar and soothing- and the latter far outweighed the former. All that waiting really had been worth it.

However, he did have one more question...

"Byaku-chan, when exactly did you start using strawberry lip balm?"

"...Just go with it."

*~.*.~*

"Go, Mako-chan!" Nagisa cheered. He, along with the others had been viewing the whole confession scenario from Rin's phone. The redhead had planted a small camera inside the locker room earlier on without anyone's knowledge after they had laid out the plan to get Makoto to confess, eager to see how it played out. And they had to admit- it had all gone rather well.

"So... in the end, there really wasn't a need for all this trouble?" Nitori's comment was politely ignored by everyone else.

"I knew she would get hooked on that lip balm!" Kou rejoiced as well, though for another reason entirely. Her quest to encourage Byakuya's womanhood was apparently a greater success than even the confession.

"We really should have given them their privacy though, don't you think?" Nitori asked tentatively, though he himself had joined in on spying on his two seniors.

"And miss out on gold like this? Hell no." Rin scoffed. "Really, Byakuya made more moves than Mako did. Talk about being the man in the relationship."

"Makoto confessed first, though." Haruka interjected, quick to defend his best friend- even if he did internally admit that Rin had a point.

"Only after you all talked him into it." Kou corrected. "And he was all shaky and nervous when the time came."

"It matters not- he did it in the end! To tell your innermost feelings to the person closest to your heart- that in itself possesses its own unique beauty!" Rei proclaimed.

"But he didn't even believe her when she said 'yes'." Rin scoffed. "Really, if Makoto ever plans to propose, we're gonna have to pull out all the stops to help him ask her without fainting."

"That's over-exaggerating." Haruka sighed. Again, however, he grudgingly admitted to himself that Rin had made yet another fair point.

"Let's start planning then!" Nagisa proclaimed exuberantly. "It's never too early t-"

"Uhm, everyone..." Nitori suddenly called, his expression nervous as he pointed at the phone screen. "Look."

Back in the locker room, Makoto and Byakuya seemed to be finally exiting the place, their moment of peaceful bliss having ended as they were reminded of the task at hand. However, the latter had paused in her tracks as she suddenly looked back over her shoulder, as if she had just realized something.

"Mako, you head back first. I have something to do." Byakuya called out.

"Um, alright." Makoto replied, though he seemed a bit perplexed at her sudden request. "I'll see you back in the storeroom?"

"Actually... You might want to wait at the entrance. I have a feeling we're going to be done for the day already." The girl responded vaguely. Makoto still seemed a bit confused, but just nodded and continued on his way.

As soon as he left, Byakuya- in a move that made all six of the spying teens stiffen- walked straight towards the camera's position in the far left corner of the room, quickly locating it in its hidden position behind a chair. Once she was directly in front of it, she picked it out from its hiding place, gazing into the lens as her brown eyes gleamed with unbridled malice.

"Naughty, naughty. Didn't anyone teach you guys to respect other people's privacy?" Byakuya asked as she put on a closed-eyed smile, though her voice was dark and venomous beneath the sweet words. Her voice soon lost all pretence of innocence with her next foreboding sentence, however...

"You'd best start running."

And then the screen went dark.

The teens in the locker room didn't move for a long moment, each of them slowly trying to process what they had all just witnessed. When they finally registered the threat Byakuya had left in her wake, it took less than two seconds before they all burst through the doors of the storeroom, running like the hounds of hell were on their heels.

And indeed, that wasn't too far from the truth.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Rei-kun, what's that constellation there?" Byakuya asked excitedly as she pointed at a particularly bright pattern of stars in the dark sky, her bare feet trailing small circles in the water as she stared up at the night sky with her teammates. They'd found the perfect spot to stargaze on the pier by the beach- the sky was cloudless that night, the only things hanging in the sky being the bright full moon and the stars that dotted the dark canvas of the night.<p>

"That's Canis Major." Rei stated tactfully as he followed Byakuya's line of sight, his knowledge of astronomy kicking in.

"Oh, then that one nust be Sirius, right? The brightest star in the sky!" Nagisa piped up eagerly, his eyes shining. "So that must be Canis Minor- the two of them following Orion over there!"

Everyone stared at him silently.

"That's... correct." Rei sounded completely surprised at how correct Nagisa's statement had been- the last time they'd done this, the boy had been practically clueless! It was strange that he suddenly displayed such a high level of knowledge regarding the subject of astronomy...

"And there's the penguin constellation again!"

And he was back to normal.

"That still doesn't exist." Makoto chuckled in amusement, laughter lighting up his emerald eyes.

"Then can I be the first to discover it?" Nagisa asked hopefully.

"I think you have to be a certified researcher to do that." Byakuya mused aloud.

"Can I be an astronaut, then?" The blonde perked up evern more at that, while Byakuya hesitated at his response- that wasn't what she'd quite meant. "I always wanted to be an astronaut!"

"Uh..."

"Hey, look at that."

Thankfully, Haruka's quiet words distracted Nagisa so that she wouldn't have to crush his hopes. As the younger boy looked up to where the raven-haired boy was pointing, Byakuya did the same... and her jaw dropped when she suddenly saw flashes of white streaking across the sky, as if the stars themselves were running across the dark landscape and leaving short-lived, luminous trails behind them. There had to be tens- no, possibly hundreds of them in the sky at that moment, each one fading out of sight if she so much as blinked.

"Shooting stars?"

"There are so many of them!"

"It must be a meteor shower tonight!"

After that brief moment of excitement amongst them died down, the five teens all stared up into the sky in wonder, watching as countless jewels of light flickered in and out of sight, as if playing a game of hide and seek in the shadow of the night. It seemed like an eternity before the number of shooting stars eventually dwindled down, the meteor shower reaching its end as they all slowly and somewhat reluctantly brought themselves back to earth. Byakuya immediately turned to the olive-haired boy seated to her left, her eyes seeking out his own through what little light the night offered.

"Hey, did you make any wish-"

But before she could finish her question, she was cut off when Makoto reached up, gently tugging her chin towards him before he placed leaned in and gave her a long, ardent kiss.

Huh. He was getting better at this.

"That," Makoto replied as they broke the embrace, his face flushed as he shot her a shy smile. "That was what I wished for."

"...Well that was a wasted wish, then." Byakuya's lips curved into a playful smirk. "You could have just asked."

"Aww, how sweet!" Nagisa gushed as he unintentionally interrupted the moment between the two, clasping his hands together in glee. After all those and attempts to push them together, he was over the moon now that his efforts had paid off. Operation: Matchmaker was a success!

"This is mildly awkward." Rei coughed into his fist as he carefully turned his head away from the duo, allowing them a bit of privacy- well, as much privacy as they could get from sitting by the pier with a group of friends. Honestly, he was just doing this because he was getting embarrassed watching them.

"True." Haruka echoed as he continued to gaze out at the reflection of the stars and the moon on the ocean's surface. If it was awkward for Rei, then it was, quite simply, a hundred times worse for Haruka. Heck, they all lived in the same neighbourhood for crying out loud! All those hangouts between just the three of them would never be the same again... but then again, if his friends were happy, so was he. Even if that meant pretending that they weren't going to be all sappy around each other even when they were all in the same room...

Damn. He had better be appointed as the best man at the wedding for all the suffering his mental state would have to endure for the next few years.

"Alright, alright you two lovebirds! Save it for later when you're alone!"

"Nagisa!"

"What? You know they won't be able to keep their hands off each ot- OW!"

Scratch that. He'd better be made the godfather of the first kid, too.

* * *

><p>"Hello everyone. My name is Rin Matsuoka. I previously went to Samezuka Academy . I have a girly name, but I'm a boy. I look forward to being-"<p>

"Hmm, it doesn't feel quite right." Nagisa interrupted before his redheaded friend could finish a recap of the introduction he had used back in grade school, shaking his head disapprovingly at the boy's bored, lifeless tone. Even with the same setting- a classroom, the rest of them sitting at the desks and Rin's name written boldly on the blackboard behind him, it didn't feel the same without his enthusiasm.

"Are you introducing yourself or putting us to sleep?" Byakuya added from her seat in the empty classroom of Iwatobi High School as she raised her eyebrows at Rin, who was gradually looking more irked with each piece of criticism he received.

"Zero points. Put more effort into it." Rei concluded bluntly, not sugarcoating anything regarding his opinion. As if to emphasize his point, Haruka yawned from his seat at the very back of the classroom- though the odds were that he was simply bored here and couldn't wait to just get into the pool already.

"You used to be..."

"Less lame?" Byakuya suggested as Makoto paused to think of an appropriate description, earning an amused glance from her beau and a shake of his head. His attempt at politeness wasn't fooling her, though- she could tell that beneath his honest attempt to critique Rin properly, he was trying hard not to crack a smile.

"No, no. More..."

"Fresh?" Nagisa tilted his head thoughtfully, and Makoto was quick to agree.

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Oh shut up!" Rin finally snapped at them, his eye twitching with exasperation. He pouted almost childishly as he glared at his friends, saying, "You guys told me to do this!"

Despite his words and vague hint of annoyance, his tone was far from the angry, snappy one he had used all those times before. His voice had lost the edginess that he'd used to push everyone away- now it was tinted with a lighthearted undertone that made him more like the Rin that he used to be, back when he was a kid and saw life in all its simplicity.

But even with that similarity, he wasn't exactly the same person he was back then either- and that was a good thing. His dreams were still in his reach, but they weren't the ones he'd inherited from his father. He had matured and grown enough to know what it was he really wanted from the bottom of his heart, and it opened his eyes, prompting him to follow his own dream.

He possessed a combination of his old determination and his newfound strength, and it pushed him higher than ever before.

"Hey, hey." Kou's voice lectured sternly as the door to the classroom slid open, revealing the younger Matsuoka's frowning face and Nitori's nervous one. "Why are you guys fooling around?"

"Our joint training's about to start." Aiichirou added as well, though his voice was much more patient than that of Iwatobi's manager.

"Onii-chan, stop playing around!"

"Tch, fine!" Rin scratched the back of his head as he complied to Kou's pestering, feeling sheepish at being scolded by his younger sister. "Man..."

"Let's get going, then." Makoto suggested as he stood from his seat, the others following suit.

"It's time to avenge my previous showing at our joint training!" Rei proclaimed, pushing up his glasses dramatically as he did so. He was going to redeem himself in the eyes of these Samezuka guys- he was not someone to be taken lightly! "I will show you my beautiful butterfly stroke!"

"Strong words, Rei!" Rin smirked as he glanced at Rei challengingly, as if daring him to live up to his bold announcement. The statement wasn't filled with malice- instead, it resounded with the comfortable familiarity of two people who had come to an understanding between each other. "I'll show you how good Samezuka is!

"Wanna have a race?" Nagisa suggested eagerly, his pink eyes gleaming at the prospect of a competition.

"You'll never beat us! We have our eyes set on the world!"

"As if." Byakuya scoffed, stretching her arms out lazily. "You guys at Samezuka have the experience, but you don't have the woman power. Ain't that right, Kou-chan?"

"You bet!" Kou agreed easily, always ready to stand up for her team.

"I expect you to come through on your statement, Shion." Rin retorted, returning Byakuya's smirk with that same playful rivalry they had as children.

"Bring it, Matsuoka."

"Now, now. Play nice." Makoto teased, patting Byakuya's shoulder as he stepped between the two before it could turn into a brawl.

"Fine, then." Rin declared proudly. "I'll just show you all, myself!"

"In that case..." A sly smirk graced Byakuya's face as she suddenly grabbed Makoto's hand, dashing past Rin and towards the entrance as she called back, "Race you there!"

"W-whoa! Slow down!" Makoto spluttered as he struggled to keep up with Byakuya's quick feet- he really had to start joining her for those jogs, he couldn't lose out to his girlfriend.

"Wait for me!" Kou immediately piped up as she joined her two upperclassmen, giggling as she raced alongside them down the corridor, leaving the others staring after then agape.

"Hey! How is that fair?!" Rin hollered, glaring at their retreating backs- they were already a good distance ahead of him by the time he stepped out into the hallway.

"It is for us!" Nagisa replied hastily as he ran past a startled Rin, a wide grin on his face. "Let's roll out, Rei-chan!"

"Already on it!" Rei was hot on his heels, leaving a dumbfounded Matsuoka gaping after them in disbelief. Why those little...

"Come on, Ai!" Rin called out to the only other Samezuka student in the corridor with him. The younger boy stood at attention immediately upon being called, a nervous yet eager smile on his face as he nodded at his upperclassman.

"Yes, senpai!"

"Haru, what are you waiting for?" The redhead then peeked his head back into the classroom, where Haruka was only just leaving his desk as he moved at his own sweet pace. The boy simply glanced up absently upon being called, his expression blank- he was far too used to all his friends' crazy antics. "Let's go!"

Haruka gave a low sigh under his breath as Rin and Nitori took off down the hallway, prompting him to run after them in turn- he didn't want to be left behind, after all. He struggled a little to catch up to the two boys despite the brief head start they'd gotten- they really kept their swimmers in shape in Samezuka...

By the time they'd made it out of the school building, Haruka could see the others running just ahead of them in the distance, too. And as he stared at all of them, racing towards the pool with such easy smiles and joyous laughter bubbling from their mouths, he couldn't help but smile and emit a short, yet sincere laugh of his own.

As his sapphire irises gleamed with happiness, Haruka urged himself to run faster- quicker- to catch up with his friends, all their troubles left behind them as they headed towards a future that shone as brightly and warmly as the sun.

* * *

><p>"Told you we would beat you guys!" Rin boasted proudly as he pushed Byakuya's shoulder tauntingly, earning a scowl and a push in return from the raven-haired girl.<p>

"That was just one time!" Nagisa retorted in defence of his team's dignity, his arms crossed as he lamented their loss to the Samezuka team during the practice session that had just ended. The Iwatobi quintet was joined by Rin as they all walked to the train station slowly, enjoying a moment of peace amongst themselves as they welcomed their old teammate back with open arms. It was just like things used to be, but along with the presence of Rei amongst them, they were all so different from the children they once were. They had grown and experienced their own struggles, but they'd faced them with courage and had emerged victorious from it all.

"I don't think your captain is even human." Makoto cringed at the mere memory of the Samezuka captain as he all but demolished them during their race. They really had to up their standards if they ever planned on facing these guys again next summer...

"No wonder your sister's got a thing for him." Byakuya muttered under her breath.

"What was that, Byakuya?"

"Nothing."

"We will be victorious next time!" Rei declared firmly, unwilling to accept defeat so easily. Rin just smirked, replying with another taunting response.

"Please, as if that'll ever happen."

"Don't speak too soon, Rin." Haruka murmured, his own eyes hardening with resolve- he always hated being second to anyone in the water, and there was no way he would let this happen again. Rin seemed to catch this, and he simply raised a crimson eyebrow as his smirk widened.

"Is that a promise?" He asked daringly, and Haruka returned his gaze with a level glare of his own.

"Absolutely."

"Oh." Nagisa suddenly piped up before the banter could continue, his voice awed as he stared ahead. Following his gaze, the others were all stunned as they saw the sight that lay before them. The sun was setting beyond the hills in the distance, its golden rays peaking over the hilltops as they shone over the valley for one last moment before being overtaken by the dark shadows of the night. The sky seemed even more beautiful than it usually was- waves of azure and violet clashed with flames of red and yellow, creating a battlefield of colours in the sky that contrasted yet complimented each other perfectly as they fought for dominance in the sky. "The sunset..."

"It's beautiful." Rin finished quietly, a soft smile on his face as he turned to face his friends once more. Hooking his arm around Haruka and Makoto's shoulders, he grinned as they all returned his heartfelt smile- even Haruka's lips were turned upwards in response. They didn't know just how much he owed each and every one of them for this gift- this wonderful sense of hope for the future; the ability to look towards the sunset once more and to see the light that would come after dark. The smile on Rin's face- so pure and unrestrained in all its delight- made Byakuya's eyes soften while she watched her companions, all standing together as one team.

That was all that mattered.

Turning back towards the setting sun with a smile on her face, Byakuya's hand tightened around Makoto's as they all walked forth together, ready to face a new day and whatever the future had in store for them. They knew they still had a long way to go- the trials they had just overcome were simply among the many that they would have to face along the path of life. Their lives would go on- they would laugh, they would cry, they would experience joy as well as suffering. No one knew what was to come- life could be beautiful as well as painful, and theirs were far from over.

But they weren't afraid anymore, because they were not alone.

They would brave any challenges life had to throw at them alongside each other. They would stick together through thick and thin, in good times and bad. They would not let their struggles bring them down... because they were together.

They were For the Team.

They were Free.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And so, we've reached the end. It's been a great ride, guys- thank you so, so much for your continuous support and patience with me throughout this story! I know it's not the most creative, nor is it the best fic out there, and though I will always wonder how I could have made this story better or the other directions I could have taken with it, I'm pretty happy that I chose to write it the way I did. It has not only provided me with the experience of improving my writing and analyzing characters, but more than that- I've gotten to know some of you guys personally through messages and reviews because of this fic, and that really makes it all worthwhile. You guys are amazing, and I'm glad to have gotten through this with your support. Thank you, every single one of you! It's all thanks to you guys that I finished this story! All of my love goes out to you guys- continue to stay awesome! ;D<strong>

**Also, I received a lovely piece of fanart for this story from Starzway09! The link to it is in my profile- go and check it out, guys! It looks amazing! 8D**

**I give one last shout out to VixenOfMeiraz, LadyAmazon, MyFriendsAreMyPower, Guest1995 (**Aha, I'm flattered that you would feel so honoured because of a simple mention- I'm just a regular person behind a screen, haha! And again, thank you very much for thinking so highly of this story, despite some of its flaws. I'm glad you like Byakuya, too- it's been a pleasure to write her, as well as this fic. And ay, you should totally go for it if you feel like writing a story- we all start somewhere, and it takes time and practice to improve. Never say never and all that. And if you ever do get an account, feel free to message me anytime, eh? ;D**), Miazaki-san, Indirianna and Mazgrl98 for reviewing the last chapter, and to everyone who has this story on their alerts and/or favourites! You guys are the best readers I could have asked for- thank you for everything, you all rock :)**

**I'll see you all again soon, hopefully! The one-shot for GATG will be up when I finally, uh... get around to it *shot* (and if you guys are lucky... maybe there'll be more than one if I'm feeling inspired ;D)! Till then, I'll see you all next water time!**


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